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Successful Back-Yard 
Poultry Keeping 



An Authoritative Guide to Success in Poultry Keeping by Intensive 
Methods--PracticaI Details of Management for Those Who 
Are Keeping Fowls in Limited Space, Whether to Sup- 
ply Eggs and Poultry for the Family Table 
or As a Source of Income 



Compiled by 
HOMER W. JACKSON 



Over 100 Illustrations 



PRICE ONE DOLLAR 



Copyright by 

RELIABLE POULTRY JOURNAL PUBLLSIUN'U COMPANY 

Quinry, Illinois 

1920 



Published by 

RELIABLE POULTRY JOURNAL PUBLISHING COMPANY 

OUINCY, ILLINOIS, U. S. A. 



CONTENTS ^^<^A 



INTRODUCTION 

CHAPTER I 

Advantages in Back-Yard Poultry Keeping and How to Start .7 

CHAPTER II 
Reports from Successful Small-Flock Owners 14 

CHAPTER III 
The Back-Yard Poultry Plant As a Source of Profit 19 

CHAPTER I\' 
Heljiful Reports from Money-Making Flocks 22 

CHAPTER ^' 
How to Insure Success — What Not to Do 29 

CHAPTER VI 
How to Hatch and Rear Chicks Successfully 32 

CHAPTER VII 

Some Practical Poultry Houses and How to Build Them 42 

CHAPTER VIII 
Feeding the Back-Yard Laying Flock 51 

CHAPTER IX 
General Care and Management of the Laying Flock 61 

CHAPTER X 
Egg Production Without Outdoor Runs 65 

CHAPTER XI 
Profitalile Markets for Surplus Poultry Products 69 

CHAPTER XII 

What the Back-Yard Poultry Keeper Wants to Know about Breeds 75 

CHAPTER XIII 
Mating and Management of Breeding Flock 79 

CHAPTER XIV 
Successful Methods of Breeding Exhibition Fowls 83 

CHAPTER XV 
Culling Methods for the Back- Yard Poultry Keeper 87 

CHAPTER XVI 

How Artificial Light Increases Winter Production 91 

CHAPTER XVII 
Protecting the Health of the Back-Yard Flock 95 

©CI.A576326 



SEP 10 1320 



INTRODUCTION 



^ 




ACK-YARD poultry keeping in the United 
States has come to be a truly great industry. 
It is to be regretted that there are no reliable 
census reports in regard to the number of 
fowls so kept, but the totals reported in local 
surveys that have been made in different sections of the 
country indicate that in the aggregate the number so 
kept must be enormous. In the state of Minnesota, for 
example, a few years ago, it was found that 40 per cent 
of the persons living in small towns had back-yard flocks 
and about 25 per cejit of those in small cities. It is not 
probable that this proportion of poultry keepers to the 
entire town population is duplicated in all sections of the 
country, but there are few communities where the pos- 
sibilities of small flocks of fowls are not generally ap- 
preciated and utilized. 

Back-yard poultry keeping probably is affected less 
by changing economic conditions than any other produc- 
tive industry. In high-price times like the present, great 
numbers of persons keep fowls as a means of reducing 
the cost of living; in times of depression the back-yard 
flock becomes a valued source of livelihood, or at least 
plays an important part in the struggle to keep going on 
reduced income. Those who are interested in pets or in 
breeding standard fowls find poultry a never-failing 
source of pleasure. So whatever may be the relative 
prosperity of the country, back-yard flocks may be said 
to have a permanent place in the domestic economy of 
the town dweller who is in position to keep fowls at all. 
It is truly fortunate in this connection that recent develop- 
ments in poultry keeping have in many ways simplified 
the details of daily care and have made success readily 
attainable. The methods that lately have come into gen- 
eral use make it practicable for anyone to keep fowls in 
the most limited space, so that on almost any town or 
city lot there is opportunity for a poultry flock large 
enough at any rate to supply the home table. 

Fowls are the most adaptable of all our domestic an- 
imals, and for that reason may be successfully kept under 
a wide range of conditions. The farmer with unlimited 
range, the poultry specialist with hundreds of fowls on 
an acre of land, and the back-yard poultry keeper with 
little or no yardroom at all, each finds that he can get 
good results with fowls, either young or adult, provided 
he adapts his methods to his particular conditions. 

The farmer wisely utilizes the range to the fullest 
practical extent. In the summer he depends upon it for 
green feed; worms and insects take the place of meat; 
gleanings from fields and feed lots, weed seeds, etc., 
form an important part of the ration, while little or no 
land is devoted exclusively to fowls, and even houseroom 
is reduced to the minimum. As a result of these advan- 
tages, nowhere can fowls be raised or eggs produced with 
as little labor or as low feed cost as on the farm. 

The broad acres of the farm, however, are not the on- 
ly place where fowls can be successfully and profitably 



kept. It is true that just in proportion as range is re- 
stricted and metliods intensified the feed and labor cost 
per fowl is increased. That, however, is not necessarily 
a handicap nor a practical objection to intensive methods, 
.since experience has abundantly proved that while farmers 
produce poultry and eggs at lowest cost they do not 
necessarily make the largest net profit, either on cheir 
fowls or on their labor. The commercial poultry keeper, 
in spite of his greater investment and labor cost, usually 
has a larger net profit per fowl and a greater labor in- 
come than the farmer, because from a given number of 
fowls he gets better average production, as a rule, and 
also realizes better prices for what he has to sell. 

The back-yard poultry keeper, owing to his lack of 
room, often goes to the practical limit in intensive meth- 
ods, but he finds that by meeting certain conditions he 
not only can get as good results in growth and production 
as the commercial poultry keeper or the farmer, but 
that he also has some important advantages that neither 
of the others has, and that go a long way toward compen- 
sating him for the additional labor involved in intensive 
poultry keeping. As a matter of fact, this disadvantage 
(extra labor cost) often is more theoretical than actual, 
since the small-scale poultryman usually has some regu- 
lar employment and simply utilizes spare time in caring 
for his fowls — time which otherwise would have no earn- 
ing value. 

Back-yard poultry keepers are naturally divided into 
the following classes: Those who keep fowls simply to 
supply the family table with eggs and possibly with a 
limited number of table fowls; those who keep larger flocks 
with a view to producing a surplus for sale, and those who 
keep poultry primarily as a source of pleasure, including 
most persons who breed standard fowls. All of these 
lines of production are practical under average back-yard 
conditions, and no industrious person who wants to engage 
in either need have any hesitancy about doing so through 
fear that his restricted quarters will prevent his success. 

The economic status of back-yard poultry keeping is 
definitely established and is not in question in the mind 
of any well-informed person. That fowls may be kept 
successfully in the smallest of back yards and that flocks so 
kept will produce eggs at an average cost of half or less 
than half the usual retail price are facts for which illus- 
trative proof may be found in every village, town and 
city in this country. There often are personal reasons 
for not keeping fowls in town, and in some communities 
there are local ordinances prohibiting it, but there are 
few places indeed that are fit for human habitation where 
there is any real practical difficulty about keeping fowls 
successfully. 

The low feed cost of eggs produced by the back-yard 
flock is by no means conditioned upon the utilization of 
waste f I'om the kitchen and the home garden, though these 
are truly important factors in keeping down expense. 
Even where the poultry keeper buys practically all feed, 



as is usually the case where flocks of good size are kept, 
he finds that the cost of producing eggs still need not 
much if any exceed one-half of the retail price. This is 
because the farmer and the commercial egg producer who 
are making a practical success of the poultry business 
must get not only a sufficient price for their eggs to pay for 
the feed consumed in producing them, but this price must 
also cover labor cost, interest on investment, and a rea- 
sonable profit to the producer. To these must be added, 
as a rule, transportation charges and a varying number 
of middlemen's profits. 

The back-yard poultry keeper however, does not take 
labor cost into consideration, because the work of caring 
for his fowls is done outside of regular hours when his 
time otherwise would have no earning power. His in- 
vestment also is negligible, and he pays no tribute to the 
middleman. In counting the cash price of production, 
therefore, he has nothing to consider except the feed bill, 
and even at present high prices for grain this represents 
but a pai-t of the average retail price of eggs — as is 
abundantly proved by records of practical back-yard poul- 
try keepers presented in detail elsewhere in this book. 

We wish to direct special emphasis to the fact that 
back-yard poultry keeping is not necessarily limited to 
the small flock that will supply the home table, but is a 
practical industry for those who wish to add materially 
to their regular incomes or who have the desire sometime 
to have a poultry plant large enough to supply the en- 
tire livelihood, thus making it possible to escape from the 
drudgery of factory or office. Those who are interested 
can secure direct evidence of this near almost any large 
city where there will be found men and women who have 
actually achieved this ambition and who have found the 
change most satisfactory. 

Poultry keeping on either a large or small scale is 
not an extremely difficult undertaking in the sense that 
it calls for much technical knowledge or long experience. 
Instances without number could be cited in which persons 
have undertaken the work with neither of the qualifica- 
tions just mentioned but who have been highly successful 
from the start. There ai'e, of course, degrees of success, 
and it is not to be expected that any person having no 
previous experience or knowledge of poultry keeping will 
secure as good results as those who have been keeping 
fowls for years. However, the essentials of poultry 
keeping are few in number and comparatively simple, 
and those who have familiarized themselves with these 
can take up the work with entire confidence — with prac- 



tical certainty of good returns from the start, knowing 
that as their experience increases their degree of success 
also will increase. 

The chief, if not the sole cause for such failures as 
occur in poultry keeping can be traced directly either to 
neglect in mastering the few truly important details of 
the work or to a false sense of independence which leads 
great numbers of persons every year to adopt methods 
which every practical poultry keeper knows are unsafe. 
There is little hope for those who will not be guided by the 
experience of others, or who are not willing to meet the 
few simple conditions that are universally acknowledged 
to be essential. They may be able to "get by" for the 
time being, but sooner or later disaster will overtake them. 

"Successful Back-Yard Poultry Keeping" has the dou- 
ble aim of serving not only as a practical guide to the 
beginner who is starting with poultry on the smallest 
scale, but also of .'^howing how the back-yard flock can 
gradually be developed to any size within the limits of 
the space available. It is hoped that it will increase the 
jiercentage of successful beginners by putting before them 
♦■he elementary principles of poultry keeping, doin.c;- this 
in the simplest possible manner. But, having pointed out 
the essentials of .success and the simplest means of at- 
taining it, this book aims also to give as complete infor- 
mation along the various lines of intensive poultry keep- 
ing as is neccessary to enable the beginner tr perfect his 
methods, increase his profits and insure his permanent 
well-being. 

"Successful Back-Yard Poultry Keeping" deals entire- 
ly with chickens, intentionally ignoring all other classes 
of poultry. While there is evidence that ducks, geese, 
turkeys, etc., can be successfully kept in back yards, the 
advantages of doing so are limited and the practical dif- 
ficulties great. Unquestionably, it is much better for the 
beginner to limit his efforts to chickens, leaving other 
kinds of poultry to the few who have some special reason 
for being interested in them. 

In the preparation of this book we have had the as- 
sistance of numerous persons, including in particular 
heads of poultry departments in a number of our state 
agricultural experiment stations, who have furnished val- 
uable data and have made it possible for us to get in 
touch with many successful back-yard poultry keepers in 
their respective states. To all of these we wish to acknow- 
ledge here our obligation and to express our sincere thanks 
and appreciation. 



CHAPTER I 



Advantages in Back-Yard Poultry Keeping and How to Start 

Back- Yard Poultry Keepers Produce Eggs at a Cost of Half or Less Than Half the Average Retail Price and There Is 

Room for a Small Flock on Practically Any Town Lot — Any Earnest Person Can Keep Fowls 

Successfully and the Start Can Be Made at Small Expense 




AM paying 60c a dozen now for eggs and can 
see where I shall be paying a dollar before 
long, if I get any. Besides, genuinely good 
eggs are almost unobtainable in this market 
at any price in the winter. Tell me how to 
start with a back-yard flock." 

HUNGRY CITIZEN. 
The foregoing letter recently received states in a 
nutshell the argument for the small back-yard flock. 
There are great numbers of persons in town and city who 
are deprived of fresh eggs for six months in every year, 
either because these are not obtainable or because they do 
not feel that they can afford to pay the price. It is from 
the ranks of these "hungry citizens'' that back-yard poul- 
try keepers are largely recruited, it being necessary on- 
ly to call the attention of earnest persons to the compar- 
ative ease and certainty with which they can supply the 
table with eggs of superior quality and unquestionable 
freshness, doing this at a fraction of the cost of market 
eggs by utilizing the waste from the kitchen, also from 
the home garden, and by employing spare time that oth- 
erwise would have no productive value. 

The saving in the cost of eggs used on the home 
table that may be realized through the possession of a 
small, well-managed back-yard flock hardly need be dis- 
cussed here in detail. Those who wish to be fully reas- 
sured on this point will find ample evidence on it in the 
reports of successful back-yard poultry keepers presented 
elsewhere in this book. However, it may safely be said 



that even at present prices for grain there is scarcely any 
condition under which the feed cost per dozen eggs need 
exceed 25c per dozen where all feed is purchased, and 
when kitchen scraps are utilized in feeding the hens it 
may be much less. 

For examiple. Professor H. R. Lewis' estimate of re- 
turns from a city flock of 15 Leghorn pullets in New 
Jersey (see page 10) shows a feed cost of 16.7c per dozen. 
Professor H. L. Kempster of University of Missouri found 
that the feed cost with his own back-yard flock was 13.9c 
per dozen. Extension Bulletin 49, University of Nebraska, 
gives the average feed cost of producing a dozen eggs in 
a Nebraska back-yard flock from June, 1917 to June, 
1918, at approximately 13.6c per dozen. In a recent pub- 
lication of the California Experiment Station, Professor 
Dougherty, head of the Poultry Department, estimates the 
feed cost at 13c per dozen on the assumption that kitchen 
waste will provide half the living for the fowls. The 
housewife who rarely is able to get eggs under 35c per 
dozen and whose average price for the year is well above 
50c, even though she uses storage eggs all through the 
high-price season, should find "food for thought" in the 
foregoing! 

A practical reason for advocating a more general re- 
sort to back-yard poultry keeping is the fact that the 
general high level of prices at which eggs now sell oper- 
ates automatically to bring about limited consumption, 
and in the case of the average family this is a real mis- 
fortune. Few persons realize how large a part eggs may 




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LOW-COST B.\CK-YAED POULTRY PLANT WITH OUTDOOR BROODERS FDR RAISINr: CHICKS 
Photo from United States Department of Agriculturo. 



s 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 



play in economical housekeeping when they are available 
at reasonable cost. The per capita consumption of eggs 
in this country cannot be stated with certainty but such 
data as are available indicate that the general average 




A POULTRY PLANT ON A HdTEL ROOF 

III tills unique pouJtry plant, loL'ated on the roof of a liotel in 
}iutfoii. Mass., the owner secui'ed an average production of ISS 2--i 
eggs in one year from 12 pullets. Fowls can be successfully kept 
almost wherever there is room for them. 

is in the neighborhood of 15 dozens a year. Where eggs 
are obtainable at low cost, also under exceptional con- 
ditions, almost double this rate of consumption often is 
realized. In many homes where eggs are not only used 
freely on the table but also employed in cooking and in 
the preparation of desserts, consumption may exceed an 
egg a day for each member of the family. 

The importance of a freer use of eggs, particularly 
in homes where there are growing children, should receive 
greater emphasis. Eggs form one of the most palatable 
sources of food and on account of their nutritiousness and 
high digestibility are indispensable in cases of sickness 
and in the diet of practically all who, while not sick, are 
below their normal strength. Moreover, recent investiga- 
tions have shown that they possess a special nutritive 
value owing to their high percentage of the imiportant, 
though but vaguely understood class of nutrients called 
"vltamines." These are regarded as absolutely essential 
to grovpth in young of any kind and to proper nutrition 
in adults, and they are found in greater proportion in eggs 
and milk than in &ny other classes of foodstuffs — either 
animal or vegetable. Even at comparatively high cost, 
therefore, a proper regard for the health of the family 
should lead to a liberal use of eggs. Where high prices 
would make this a serious burden, the advantage of hav- 
ing a home flock as a constant source of supply should 
be obvious. 

In this connection it may be well to call attention tn 
the mistaken economy of many housewives in trying to 
reduce expenses through the use of "egg substitutes." 
Doubtless, the leavening and thickening power of eggs 
can be imitated by such substitutes, but not their food 
value. The nature of such substitutes and the undesir- 
ability of their use is thus explained in a News Bulletin 
issued recently by the University of Illinois: 

"Analyses of samples of the various substitutes by 
Charles H. La Wall, chemist of the Pennsylvania Depart- 
ment of Agriculture, have proved that 'they are wicked 
frauds which add to the already high cost of living by 
making people pay an excessive price for a little corn- 
starch and casein under the impression that they are sav- 
ing money.' Tests of ten kinds of substitutes on the mar- 
kets show that they contain a small per cent of casein, a 



large per cent of starch, and are colored with a permitted 
coal-tar color. They do not represent egg contents, con- 
taining starch which is foreign to eggs, and being devoid 
of fat which eggs contain. The coloration used is a per- 
mitted coal-tar coloring, but it imparts a color indicating 
the presence of an abundance of eggs, and articles baked 
with it could not legally be sold for that reason. 

"These substitutes are misbranded in several par- 
ticulars. In one case the package states 'containing the 
nutriment of eggs,' and 'for all cooking and baking pur- 
poses gives results equal to fresh eggs.' There were only 
three ounces of dry material present, which are supposed 
to be equal to two dozen fresh eggs, an untrue claim, for 
two dozen fresh eggs contain over one-half pound dry 
nutritive substance. 

"In another case the label claimed that each package 
of the substitute would serve the purpose of four dozen 
of eggs except in nutrition, and would save the cost of 
over $1 worth of eggs; also that it gave that rich 'eggy' 
look and saved the stomach much work in digesting heavy 
food. The fraud in this case lies in the fact that eggs 
alone will sustain life, while on a diet of this article alone 
an individual would quickly starve to death. The idea that 
a small package of cornstarch vidth only minor additions 
could take the place of four dozen eggs, equivalent to 
more than one pound of dried eggs, is ridiculous. The 
public is warned to beware of all so-called substitutes." 

Under favorable conditions what has been said in re- 
gard to the practical economy to be effected by keeping 
back-yard flocks applies to the production of table fowls 
as well as eggs. Where space is limited it often is not 
practical to attempt to raise fowls, or at the most only 
enough to insure a supply of pullets with which to renew 
the laying flock each year or every other year as the case 
may be. Those who have the room however, will find 
that they can produce table fowls to fairly good advantage, 
and if they are willing to go to a little trouble in special 
fattening, as described elsewhere in this book, can pro- 
vide poultry meat of a quality practically unobtainab'e 
in the ordinary market, often at no greater cost th-n 
market poultry of ordinary grades. 

Who Should Not Keep Fowls 

In the face of the foregoing facts it should be plain 
that the economic status of the back-yard flock cannot 
be in question in the mind of any well-informed person. 





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THTE MOST SUCCESSFUL POULTRY KF,EPERS ARE THOSE 
WHO LOVE PETS 

That fowls may be kept successfully in about every back- 
yard in this country and that such fowls vrill produce eggs 
at an average cost of half or less than half the usual re- 
tail price— these are ESTABLISHED FACTS. More- 



ADVANTAGES IN BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING AND HOW TO START 



9 



over, those who take an interest in breeding superior- 
quality birds or who enjoy pets will find a small flock of 
fowls a source of keen enjoyment, quite regardless of the 
profits that they may realize. 

We do not say that every one who has a back yard 
SHOULD keep fowls. There often are good reasons why 
some will not find it convenient or practicable to do so. 
Those whose other duties are such that they cannot or 
will not give the fowls proper attention, those who are 
not prepared to pay the price of success by looking after 
the simple needs of the fowls regularly day after day, 
THOSE WHO DO NOT LIKE PETS— all these, doubtless, 
will be better off if they continue to buy their eggs and 
poultry meat. Fowls are highly adaptable to conditions, 
and many liberties may be taken with them, but they will 
not stand the neglect that a great many persons are 
guilty of. It is useless to attempt poultry keeping unless 
there is a disposition to give the birds a fair chance. 

With these qualifications in mind it may be said that 
no one who wants to keep fowls need hesitate through 
fear that he cannot properly meet the requirements of 
success. It does not matter greatly where the prospective 
poultryman lives, what his surroundings are, what his 



in close quarters calls for a relatively greater amount of 
labor and closer attention than would be required with 
birds having more liberty. For this reason extremely 
intensive methods of poultry keeping have never been re- 
garded as truly practical where fowls have been kept in 
large numbers and where the labor cost of caring for them 
must be taken into consideration. With small flocks, how- 
ever, where the time element may be disregarded, such 
objections to intensive poultry keeping may be ignored. 

A comparatively small house will meet the require- 
ments of a flock large enough to supply the family table 
and it is not really necessary to provide any yardroom 
whatever. Most poultry keepers prefer to have at least 
a small outdoor yard for the birds when possible, partic- 
ularly if they are to be kept the year round, because 
fowls with yards generally will give better results than 
those that are kept constantly confined; also because of 
the simpler methods and lower labor costs where fowls 
have a reasonable amount of yardroom. Nevertheless, 
there are thousands of flocks kept indoors throughout the 
entire year, and with good success (see Chapter X). 

In some cities local ordinances have been passed that 
impose restrictions upon poultry keeping, and where there 
is any question in regard to this it is well to be certain 




WITH PROPER CAHK SiriiDV. VICOKOUS CHICK.S CAX BE liALSK]) IN THE BACK YARD 



hours of work may be, or whether there is some one else 
in the family able to lend a helping hand. There are prac- 
tical ways by which the common methods of feeding and 
general care can be adapted to individual conditions, 
whatever they may be. Reasonable care the fowls must 
have; but wide variations as to details are permissible. It 
may be well to explain that maximum production in any 
flock is secured only through painstaking attention to 
comparatively slight details in feeding and general man- 
agement; but fair returns, such as will satisfy the aver- 
age poultry keeper and represent a good round profit on 
the investment and the time employed may be secured 
through most unexacting methods. 

How Much Room Is Needed 

Attention has already been called to the adaptability 
of fowls to varying conditions, and experience has showm 
that it is scarcely possible to confine them so closely that 
they will not remain productive for an indefinite time if 
properly cared for. Various "systems" of highly intensive 
poultry keeping have come before the public from time 
to time and while, as a rule, they have demanded careful 
attention and a relatively great amount of labor, the 
fact that fowls can be brought to a high degree of pro- 
ductivity under such conditions has never been disputed. 
It should be borne in mind that to keep fowls successfully 



what attitude the authorities are likely to take. However, 
under the pressure of war-time conditions and the even 
greater needs that have followed the close of the war, 
many such restrictions have been annulled or suspended. 
Few persons whose houses and yards are kept in a sani- 
tary condition and who dispense with males — an entirely 
unnecessary expense in any flock kept exclusively for 
the production of table eggs — will meet with serious ob- 
jection to their keeping a small flock. 

Capital Required 

The amount of capital required for the back-yard 
flock depends upon many conditions, and no statement 
can be given that will be applicable to all. Speaking 
generally, a comfortable house can be built, even at pres- 
ent prices of lumber, for $1.50 to $2.00 for each hen 
accommodated, and if a little foresight is exercised in 
the purchase of materials, utilizing second-hand lumber, 
store boxes, etc., and doing the work oneself, the cost can 
be greatly reduced. So far as the small back-yard flock is 
concerned the question of capital really is not a factor; 
anybody who WANTS to keep fowls can find a way to 
finance the undertaking. 

The investment required to provide completely for a 
flock of 15 layers, approximate cost of keeping such a 
flock for one year (figured on the basis of 1918 prices for 



10 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 



materials, stock and feed) and the return that may rea- 
sonably be expected, has been estimated by Prof. H. R. 
X,ewis of the New Jersey Experiment Station, as follows: 

SFIiVANCIAL RETURNS TO UK .WTICIP.VTEI) FROM \ FLOC^K OF 

!.■> PrlXETS 
Estini.itcd Cost of Hulldin? Hnuse an! Stiiekin; With a City Frock 

Poultry house, SxlO foot $40.00 

Fenoing and posts 9.00 

Equipment, including pails, hop, hoppers, etc 4 (50 

Stock. 13 .'^laturing Leghorn pullets 30.00 

Total cos;t S 83.60 

E.vi»enses 

Teed purchased (in addition to garbage) S 30.00 

Supphes and incidentals S.OO 

Interest on investment 4. 18 

Depreciation, repairs and insurance. .,_. _ 6.00 

Total expenses S 48.1S 

To buy new pullets each year to take the place of old ones which 
are killed and eaten bv the family after they have stopped laj'ing for 
the summer 30.00 

Total yearly outlay - ...S 7.S.18 

Returns 
ISO dozen eggs at the rate of 12 dozen per bird, figured at .^0 

•cents per dozen $90.00 

2S fowls eaten by the family (2 being allowed for normal mor- 
tality in the flock), 112 pounds at 3.5 cents 39.20 

Tot.al returns S129.20 

.Sunimary 

Returns -.. $129.20 

Expenses.. 78.18 

Difference (commonly called labor income or profit). .. $ .51.02 

.Analyzed on the basis of the cost of one dozen eggs, if the profit or labor 
income is credited to the cost of producing eggs, we find that under these 
conditions the family will have secured their eggs at an average price during 
the year of 22 cents per dozen, and the poultry meat at a price of 35 cents 
per pound. 

From "Hints to Poultrymen," Vol. 6, -No. 11, N. ,t. F.xp, Station. 

Time and Attention Required 

The amount of time consumed in caring for the flock 
is quite largely under the control of the caretaker. Fowls 
are quickly responsive to special attention, but where 
necessary the details of the work, even the daily feeding, 
can be adjusted to meet individual requirements without 
much regard to what these may be. Many successful 
back-yard poultry keepers do not see their fowls by day- 
light for weeks at a time, with the exception of Sunday, 
doing their feeding, watering, cleaning, etc., by lantern 
light. Maximum production may not be secured under 
such methods but fairly good results certainly should. 

To meet special conditions, numerous practices have 
been devised. However, for those who find it convenient 
to do so it is doubtful whether there is a better way than 




L.\CI' 



-YARD POULTRY PLANT USED IN DEVELOPING A FAMOUS HEAVY-LAYING 
STRAIN OF LEGHORNS 



Two inexpensive poultry houses used by Professor Harry R. Lewis of N. J. Experiment Station in 
the moderale-sized back yard of his home in New Brunswick. Here he is carrying on highly valuable 
experiments in breeding for egg production and has already developed a highly productive strain ol 
Single Comb White Leghorns. 



to follow the old familiar plan of feeding the birds regu- 
larly two or three times a day, one of these feeds to be 
a moist mash. Only a few minutes a day are required 
for this and there are few instances where there is not 
some member of the family who can give the birds this 
slight attention. Cleaning, spraying for lice, spading the 
yard, etc., are duties that can be cared for largely at the 
convenience of the "man of the house." 

Which Breed to Keep 

This subject, always one in which the beginner takes 
the keenest interest, is fully treated in Chapter XIL 

How Many Hens to Keep 

The back-yard flock that is kept simply as a source 
of supply of eggs for the home table naturally will vary 
in size with family requirements. Egg production de- 
pends upon a number of considerations, and average re- 
sults are bound to vary widely. "Bad luck" or bad man- 
agement (two names for pretty m.uch the same thing) 
may result in yields much below reasonable expectations, 
and with skillful handling they may go much above. As 
a basis for making plans, it is fair to expect that pullets 
hatched at the proper time in the spring, so that they are 
ready to begin laying shortly after the first of October, 
should average to lay 120 eggs, or 10 dozens each, during 
'the following twelve months. With good management 
this average may readily be increased to 150 eggs or 
better, particularly if the fowls are of good breeding. . 

It is more difficult to estimate the number of eggs 
that will be used by the average family. Tastes differ 
and, moreover, the consumption of eggs of the ordinary 
grades commonly available is not much of a guide to the 
number that will be required when best-quality eggs can 
be secured at all times and at a cost so low that they 
can be economically substituted for butcher's meat. As 
stated elsewhere in this chapter, per capita consumption 
of eggs probably runs from 15 to 25 dozens per year, the 
latter figure beiiig reached only under special conditions. 
However, those who produce their own supply may exceed 
even the highest estimate. For example, the writer hap- 
pens to have a partial record of egg consumption in his own 
family for the months of February to May inclusive which 
shows an average of one egg a day 
for each member of the family. As 
this covered the period when eggs 
were high in price and when there 
was a constant temptation to skimp 
a little so as to have more to sell, it 
is probable that the average for the 
year is above rather than below that 
rate. If it is the intention to make 
the most of the possibilities of the 
flock, therefore, an estimate of 30 doz- 
ens for each person does not seem 
too high. 

To provide this average there 
must be at least three good hens for 
each member of the family. As there 
will be no difficulty in disposing of 
any surplus that may accumulate, and 
as there are certain seasons when pro- 
duction is comparatively low, it would 
be safer to allow an average of four 
layers, which should supply all the 
eggs that one person will require, ex- 
cept during the period from Septem- 






ADVANTAGES IN BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING AND HOW TO START 



11 



ber to November when production always is quite low and 
for which provision must be made by storing- some of the 
surplus of the spring months. 

When and How to Start 

Probably more persons take up poultry keeping 
jn the fall than at any other time. This is because they 
get quicker returns then, or at least expect them. In the 
last few yeirs however, many who would have started at 
this time have found it difficult or impossible to do so ow- 
ing to their inability to secure laying pullets, or even to get 
good yearling hens, except possibly at extreme price;-. 
For this reason many now are starting in the spring and 
find this much more convenient and 
economical, since they rarely have 
any trouble in securing the desired 
number of eggs for hatching or day- 
old chicks — and at comparatively 
slight cost. 

Where there is sufficient room 
for raising them, pullets can be 
brought to maturity in the fall at half 
or less than half what they would cost 
if purchased at usual prices. More- 
ever, this plan insures having a lib- 
eral supply of delicious broilers or 
fryers throughout the summer, uti- 
lizing for this purpose the surplus 
cockerels and the less promising pul- 
lets. At the New Jersey Experiment 
Station, in 1918, it was found that the 
entire cost of raising a large flock of 
pullets to maturity, where all feed was 
purchased at high prices, averaged 
70 cents for Leghorns and 80 cents 
for Plymouth Rocks, Reds, etc., after 
deducting the value of the cockerels 
which were sold as they reached 
broiler age. 

When to start is not so much a 
question of season as of decision. The 
best time is when interest is aroused; 
when the possibilities for profit and 
pleasure in the small poultry flock are realized; when the 
necessity for adding to the income becomes acute. Adapt 
the method of beginning to conditions as they exist at the 
time, BUT BY ALL MEANS BEGIN. 

What to Buy in the Fall 

As a rule, October is the best fall month in which 
to start, as this gives opportunity to get the fowls well 
acquainted with their new quarters and started laying be- 
fore cold weather sets in. November is not too late, but 
do not delay a single day longer than necessary after 
October first. If obtainable, by all means get well-ma- 
tured ready-to-lay pullets. It may do no harm to get 
those that have already begun, if anyone foolish enough 
to sell such birds can be found, but they will have to 
be handled with great care or the change will stop 
their laying. The beginner should bear in mind that 
early-hatched pullets that lay well during October can 
be thrown into molt by any mishandling that stops pro- 
duction. To get the maximum egg yield from such pul- 
lecs during the fall, and to keep them laying regularly 
through the winter, it is important that they be carefully 
managed. Feed regularly on a well-selected ration, and 
do not disturb them unnecessarily. If for any reason it 



is necessary to make an important change in rations or 
methods of care it should be done by easy stages so that 
the fowls will have a chance to become accustomed to 
it gradually. 

Hens as Winter Layers 

On account of the general high prices demanded for 
ready-to-lay pullets in the fall, many are buying one and 
two-year-old hens. The beginner in many instances is 
not able to secure anything else, unless he decides to buy 
immature pullets. So far as winter production is con- 
cerned, there is not much to choose between the latter and 
one-year-old hens, as neither can be expected to become 




HOUSE OF A SUCCESSFUL SMALL FLOCK IN THE HEART OF A CITY 
Photo from United States Department of Agriculture, 



profitably productive until the first of the year or after. 
Hens of the larger breeds, however, are harder to handle 
in close confinement than pullets, and for that reason the 
beginner probably will get better results from immature 
pullets, provided they are not too young. 

With good care pullets should come into laying at 
a given age without much regard to season. For example, 
Plymouth Rocks may be expected to begin laying at 
about seven to eight months of age if they are properly 
fed, regardless of whether they reach this age on the 
first of October or on the first of January. An exception 
perhaps should be noted in the case of Leghorns, which 
in cold climates are apt to be slow about coming into 
laying when they reach maturity in midwinter. With 
the larger breeds however, pullets that are known to be 
four to four and one-half months old about the first of 
October can reasonably be expected to begin laying by 
the first of January or shortly thereafter. 

In buying old hens the back-yard poultry keeper will 
find it neccessary to proceed with a good deal more cau- 
tion than was necessary a few years ago. The advan- 
tages of culling are now so widely understood and t^e 
practice has been so generally adopted that any person 



12 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 



buying hens in the fall needs to understand culling meth- 
ods quite thoroughly to avoid getting stocked up with 
culls from which he will secure but poor production, no 
matter how well they are cared for and fed. Before going 
into the market to buy old hens, carefully read the chap- 
ter on culling (Chapter XV) so as to be able to select 
hens that will be reasonably certain to give a profitable 
egg yield. If first-class one-year-old hens are secured 




POULTRY PLANT OF A BACK-YARD BREEDER 

Great numbers of standard fowls are successfully bred in small plants, 
above is 28 by .32 feet, is divided into four pens and will accommodate 64 breed 
ing. Owner of this plant states that "success in raising poultry in sr.-:all yards 
and healthy stock." 

and then are given good feeding and care, they should 
prove profitable layers after January 1 to 15. The eggs 
from such hens will be much larger than those of young 
pullets, but more attention must be given to their feed- 
ing and exercise than would be required with the latter. 

With the possible exception of Leghorns, few hens are 
profitable layers after their second year, hence it is never 
advisable to buy two-year-old hens. Unfortunately, the 
beginner finds it practically impossible to distinguish 
yearling hens and those that are older, and for the most 
part must simply take his chances. A little can be deter- 
mined by general appearance, but not much. If buying in 
October, select those that have not begun to molt or are 
only partially feathered out, as they are almost invariably 
the best layers in the flock, bearing in mind, however, that 
late molting sometimes is caused by weakness. Avoid 
the early molters that will be completely feathered out 
at this date, also those that are extremely poor or lame 
from any cause, and all with scaly legs, spurs, or other 
obvious defects. If the fowls are of the larger breeds, 
watch for individuals having enlarged abdomens or such 
as feel hard or "bag down" behind. In buying Leghorns it 
is necessary to watch for extra-early pullets that have 
already laid themselves out and are going through a 
molt. Some poultry keepers make a practice of getting 
out a lot of pullets to keep up their supply of eggs in 
late summer and early fall, selling them oflF about the 
time they begin to molt, since after that they are of 
little value as layers until the winter is well over. 

Starting in the Spring With Adult Fowls 

If laying hens or pullets can be purchased in the 
spring at fair prices, it will pay anyone who has room 
for them to get a dozen or two just for the production 
of spring and summer eggs. The beginner may have some 



difficulty in getting vnnter eggs, especially if he is able to 
secure only old hens or late-hatched pullets. Almost any 
hen or pullet will lay well in the spring, however, and 
within the following four or five months should produce 
in the neighborhood of fifty to seventy-five eggs each. 
As they become broody and stop laying, they should be 
killed for table use, and by the latter part of the summer 
should all have been disposed of in this way, affording 
many delicious Sunday dinners at 
comparatively low cost, while the eggs 
produced will represent a substantial 
profit. 

It will be necessary to use a lit- 
tle care in the purchase of such fowls, 
seeing to it that one does not stock up 
with pullets that laid all winter long 
and whose productiveness during the 
spring may be quite low. If hens 
are used, watch for culls. Since these 
birds are not to be used as breeders 
nor to be kept over to another year, it 
will do no harm to feed a rather forc- 
ing ration. 

One Hundred Per Cent in Three 
Months 
To show what may be realized 
from a flock of hens purchased in the 
spring, the following February-April 
record of a back-yard flock is given 
by Professor Horace Atwood of the 
West Virginia Experiment Station: 
■"On February 1, 1919, I purchased for $65 a back- 
yard flock of sixty fowls consisting of six White Wyan- 
dotte cockerels, five White Wyandotte pullets, four White 
Leghorn cockerels and forty-five White Leghorn hens, 
mostly two years old. The price paid was perhaps some- 
what low as the boy who owned them was very anxious 
to sell as he desired money with which to purchase a bi- 
cycle. Yet, as he had owned the flock only about one 
year and already had made them pay for themselves, he 
had made a reasonable profit. 

"Within about one month all of the Wyandottes were 
sold at a good price, through an advertisement inserted in 
the 'West Virginia Weekly Market Bulletin,' a state pub- 
lication which advertises West Virginia farm products free 
of all direct expense to West Virginia citizens. A few of 
the White Leghorn hens and cockerels were killed for the 
table. They were hopper fed on a well-known brand of 
dry mash, the scratch feed consisting of a mixture of earn 
and oats. They were compelled to eat at least as much 
mash as scratch feed. The Leghorn hens were just he- 
ginning to lay after the winter's rest and under the in- 
fluence of liberal feeding and sanitary conditions their 
production was satisfactory. The following schedule 
shows the receipts and expenditures of February, March 
and April; 



rhe house illustrated 
.: birds without crowd- 
depends upon cleanliness 



Statement of Returns From Small Flock for Three Mouths 



Date 




Keh, 


1- 


Kch. 


1- 


Feb. 


S- 


h'eh 


D- 


Feb 


10- 


h'eb. 


11- 


Feb. 


1,5- 


Mar. 


1- 


Mar. 


«- 


Mar. 


li- 


Apr. 


1- 


Apr. 


1- 


Apr. 


1 


Apr. 


I'.i 


May 


1 



ITEMS Dr. 

-To 60 fowls. S 65.00 

-To 600 lbs. feed ... .. 24.75 

-By 27 lbs. mash sold a neighbor. 

-By 2 W. Leghorn cocks for table 

-By 2 W. Wyandotte ckls. sold for breeders 
-By ,3 W. Wyandotte ckls. sold for breeders . . 
-By 1 W. Wyandotte ckl. and 5 pullets.... 

-By 65 doz. i?ggs in Feb. at SO cents.. 

-To 400 lbs. corn 16.63 

-To 142 lbs. oats. - 3.84 

-By 70 doz. eg^s in March at 48 cents 

-By 2 hens for table.. 

—By feed sold a neighbor 

-To 660 lbs. feed 23.50 

-By 77 doz. eggs at 45 cents in April.. ... 

Total ---. . -S 133.72 



Cr. 



l.OS 

3.00 

6.00 

11.00 

15.00 

32.50 



33.60 
1.50 
5.08 

34.05 

S 142.81 



"The receipts for the three months from eggs and 
fowls sold exceeded cost of fowls and feed by $9.09. Also 
some feed was on hand May 1 but unfortunately no record 



ADVANTAGES IN BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING AND HOW TO START 



13 



was made as to the amount. Of the sixty fowls purchased, 
forty-three remained, fifteen having been sold or eaten 
and two having died. Adding the market value of the 
fowls on hand at the end of this period it will be seen that 
the enterprise returned about one hundred per cent on the 
investment in three months' time." 

Starting With Day-Old Chicks 

A good many persons make their start in poultry 
keeping with day-old chicks or with one or more sittings of 
eggs, and in many respects this is an excellent way to do. 
The cost of the pullets at maturity is much less than the 
price that would have to be paid for them at this time, 
and, what is still more important, the owner may be cer- 
tain that he will have a supply of first-class pullets, 
matured and ready to begin laying by the first of Octo- 
ber, or shortly thereafter. Whether it will be advisable 
for any given person to attempt to raise his own flock of 
pullets depends upon conditions, and particularly upon 
the amount of ground that is available for the purpose. 
It is not generally wise to try to do so if the chicks must 
be confined to extremely small, bare yards, where they 
suffer from lack of natural exercise and consequently 
fail to make good growth. With a good-sized yard, how- 
ever, or if the chicks can run at large the greater part 
of the time, there is no reason why any one should not be 
entirely successful in raising them. 

Bear in mind, however, that the handicap of limited 
yardroom, or none at all, can be overcome to a great ex- 
tent by proper feeding and by providing ample exercise 
for the chicks through the use of deep litter in their 
pens. The chief reason why farm-raised fowls generally 
are superior to those grown in close confinement is that 
they have abundant exercise. 

Buying Day-Old Chicks 

Those who propose to start in this way should not fail 
to make a reservation in advance of the time they will 
want the chicks, and should be willing to pay a fair price, 
buying directly from some one with an established repu- 
tation, thus making sure of getting stock of truly good 
breeding — the kind that always gives best results. 

Another important matter to which the back-yard 
poultry keeper needs to pay especial attention is the pro- 
vision of suitable brooding equipment for raising his 
chicks after he gets them. It is simply a waste of money 
to buy them at all if this is not done. It is possible to 
raise good chicks in fireless brooders, but only at a great 



deal of expense in time and attention. It is always easier 
and cheaper to use a first-class heated brooder, and in 
nearly all instances chicks so brooded will be better and 
stronger in every respect. 

There are various styles of brooders adapted to the 
requirements of back-yard use. Electric and lamp-heated 
brooders for indoors or outdoors can be secured that af- 
ford almost ideal brooding conditions; for large flocks 
coal- or oil-burning colony hovers are almost invariably 
preferred. Get the kind of brooder that best meets individ- 
ual requirements and is adapted to the size of the flock 
that is to be raised, but do not fail to get some kind. 

Starting With Hatching Eggs 

Many breeders of high-quality fowls do not sell baby 
chicks, and in order to get a start in their particular 
strains at moderate cost it is necessary to buy eggs and 
provide means of hatching them. Practically all that has 
been said with respect to starting with chicks applies 
with equal force to starting with hatching eggs. Many 
prefer to do this and, if reasonably skillful in the opera- 
tion of incubators, good results will be secured. 

How Many Chicks or Eggs to Buy 

Starting with day-old chicks it is wise to get about 
three times the number of pullets wanted. This will allow 
for reasonable loss during the growing period, also will 
admit of culling out the less desirable members of the 
flock as their deficiencies become obvious. Even in the 
best bred stock there will always be some individuals that 
will be slow in maturing, or that will develop defects of 
one kind or another that make them undesirable for the 
laying pen. The poultry keeper who has accommodations 
for a certain number of birds usually is inclined to keep 
the full number even though, in order to do so, he must 
retain many from which good production cannot reason- 
ably be expected. It is much better, therefore, to raise 
a small surplus so that the flock can be kept at the de- 
sired size without retaining in it any that ought to be 
discarded. If the start is made with eggs for hatching, 
there should be at least four times as many eggs as the 
number fixed for the proposed laying flock. Observing 
these proportions, the beginner should have no difficulty 
in determining just how many eggs or chicks to buy, also 
what incubator or brooder capacity he should have in or- 
der to take care of them. 




WOMEN OFTEN ARE ESPECIALLY SUCCESSFUL AS POULTRY KEEPERS 



CHAPTER i I 



Reports From Successful Small-Flock Owners 



Persons Who Have Been Successful in Poultry on a Small Scale Tell, in Their Own Words, How They Started, How 

They Manage Their Fowls, and What Returns They Are Able to Realize From Them — Success 

With Fowls Is Not Limited to Any Particular Section of the Country 




jjVERYONE who is considering the advisability 
of keeping a small flock of fowls naturally is 
interested in learning what he may reasonably 
expect in the way of returns. The best way 
to get at this is to find out what others are 
doing, along with as complete details as possible of the 
conditions under which they are working. For this rea- 
son we present in this chapter a number of interesting 
and instructive reports from persons who are keeping 
fowls primarily to supply the home table. These reports 
should be genuinely helpful to all beginners. They are 
fairly indicative of what anyone else can do with similarly 
well-managed flocks. It will be noted that widely sep- 
arated sections of the country are represented in the re- 
ports here presented, also in Chapter IV, these having 
been selected in part to show that opportunities for back- 
yard poultry keeping are not limited to any particular 
section of the country but that it can be successfully 
practiced independent of location or climatic conditions. 

A Profitable Winter Laying Flock 

Owner of One of the Leading Town Flocks in the Missouri 
Farm Laying Contest Tells of Methods Adopted 
and Results Secured — Over $4 Gross In- 
come per Hen in Five Months 

By MRS. FRANK LEE, Missouri 

EDITORIAL NOTE: The Division of Agricultural 
Extension Service in Missouri is conducting a "Farm 
Laying Contest" under the direction of T. S. Townsley, 
in which contest are represented entire flocks belonging 
to farmers and back-yard poultry keepers who are work- 
ing under the direction of the Division and making month- 
ly reports on production. The results secured are inter- 
esting and of decided practical value. One of the most 
successful of those engaged in this contest is Mrs. Frank 
Lee, a back-yard poultry keeper who writes as follows in 
reply to our request for details in regard to results secur- 
ed and methods followed: 



1 N MARCH, 1919, I bought 50 White Wyandotte eggs 
from a breeder of a widely advertised egg-laying strain. 
April 10 I had 44 fluffy, stocky little chicks. I killed 
two weak ones and one that was deformed, leaving 41 
strong, healthy chicks. My equipment for chicken rais- 
ing is very primitive. I have no brooder and a wood- 
shed serves as a chicken house. So I got a box and cov- 
ered it loosely with an old blanket, allowing it to bag in 
center. I used jugs of hot water for heat, covering the 
jugs with a cloth. 

I was very careful that the chicks did not get chilled 
and so gave them a good start. More chicks are lost by 
allowing them to get damp or chilled than from any oth- 
er cause. After 58 hours I gave water and buttermilk, 
with rolled oats and corn bread. After a week I fed 
commercial chick feed. I watched them closely, attending 
to every detail in feeding and care, and in October I had 



26 fine-looking pullets and one handsome cockerel, the 
others having been eaten. 

The first pullet laid in October, and in November 
several were laying. Then I culled the flock, eliminating 
all but eighteen pullets and the cockerel. In November 
I got 168 eggs, and in December 347 eggs. In January 
the 18 pullets laid 354 eggs which was the Missouri 
State record for town flocks. In February I got 310 eggs 
and in March 358, a total of 1,537 eggs in five months, 
or an average of 85 per hen. The total cost of feed, new 
stock and equipment for the five months was $34.92 and 
the gross sales of eggs amounted to $85.40; besides, at 
the end of March I had 64 young chicks worth $16. So 
the net income from my flock for the five months amount- 
ed to $64.48, or $3.58 per hen. 

I keep deep litter in the shed and the hens scratch 
for the grain. The roosts and drop boards are cleaned 
regularly and sprayed with coal oil and a good disin- 
fectant. I feed wheat screenings and com or chops, and 
a dry mash composed of wheat bran, ship stuff, corn 
meal and commercial meat scrap, with plenty of clean 
water. I had a small patch of rye for winter pasture 
and now have a patch of rape, which I find is the best 
summer pasture for chickens. 

My chicken house (or shed) is partly open in the 
south with an east door, with the north perfectly tight. 
In winter, during the cool south winds, I closed the open- 
ing on south and opened the east door, giving them the 
benefit of the sunlight. Lots of trouble and work? Yes, 
but it's worth it — from the double standpoint of pleasure 
and profit. 



Back-Yard Flock Makes Good Record 

Pullets From Bred-to-Lay Stock Averaged to Produce 196 

Eggs Each in Twelve Months — Were Kept Confined 

to House Constantly Througliout This Period 

By PROF. H. L. KEMPSTER, University of Missouri 

PHIL ROBYN from Augusta, Missouri, is responsible 
for the following story of a back-yard flock. It is 
hoped that his experience will prompt others to follow' his 
example and do their bit toward producing more food. 
In March, 1917, Mr. Robyn purchased 32 eggs from the 
University. These eggs hatched March 28 and from 
them he raised 12 pullets, one of which died and another 
proved to be nonproductive and was killed. On August 
11 a second bird died. On that date the average number 
of eggs per hen was 175. Up to October 1 the remaining 
9 laid 190 eggs, making the average number of eggs per 
hen for the year 196. In writing concerning them Mr. 
Robyn says: "For three weeks in July I was unable to 
obtain mash and they dropped off about 60 eggs during 
the time and picked right up to normal again in August 
when they had the mash." The following is his report. 

Peed includes scratch feed, mash, oyster shell for 
layers and for all chicks raised. Every grain was bought. 



REPORTS FROM SUCCESSFUL SMALL-FLOCK OWNERS 



15 



The pullets were housed in a well-ventilated house measur- 
ing 5 by 6 feet, from September 1, 1917, and kept abso- 
lutely confined throughout the year, except a few hours 
in the afternoons on the hottest days in August when they 
were permitted to run in the yard. 

Record of Ten S. C. W. Leghorn Pullets from Oi!. 1, l!tl<, to 
Sept. 30, 1918 

1,935 eggs valued at, _-S60.f>0 

Cockerels sold and for table - 9. 04 

21 pullets raised at SI .50 each r 35 22 

Total.. .-' 8104,26 

Feed for one year . . 35,22 

NTet profit .$69.04 



Record of Bred-To-Lay Flock* 

A Net Profit of Over $10 Per Hen Is the Record of This 
Small Back- Yard Flock 

By MR. WM. F. GERHARDT, Pennsylvania 

I HAVE 30 S. C. White Leghorn pullets of three-fourths 
English blood, that were hatched May 19. 1918. The 
first egg was laid November 5, 1918, and from that date 
to October 31, 1919, they laid 4,924 eggs. These pullets 
were confined from the day they were hatched until they 
were disposed of, and I feel that under the circumstances 
I have done quite well with them. There is nothing 
about the returns realized, either in productions or in 
sales, that any other earnest person cannot readily dupli- 
cate. A net profit of nearly $300, however, goes a long 
way toward meeting the increased living expenses of the 
average family or affords a substantial addition to the 
savings account. 

I did not have 30 pullets all the time, but started with 
that number, and they laid 2,254 eggs up to .\pril 1, when 
I disposed of four. The remaining 26 laid 1,203 eggs up 
to July 1, when I reduced the flock to 15. These laid 
967 eggs then to October 31. Following is a complete 



statement of receipts and expenses from November I, 
1918, to October 31, 1919: 

statement of Eeceipts and Expen.se^ 
Nov. 1, 191.S~Oct. :il, 1919 

Amount invested .ind stock on hand. Xovember 1. 191S: 

I'oultrv house .? 100.00 

30 pullets . 90.00 

2 cockerels 10.00 

Total .S 2(XI 00 

Total stock on hand, Oct. 31. 1919: 

15 hens S 30,00 

45 pullets -.■- 135.00. 

4 cockerels.- 20.00 

Total '.-. S 185.00 

Expenses for feed, straw, etc S 101.241 

Interest on investment 12.00 

Total S 203,24 

Receipts : 

Table egsjs--- . S 138.60 

Hatching eggs 7.70 

Day-old chicks.. 169.85 

Stock. 31.00 

.Market poultry .. 67.39 

Increase in value of stock on hand 85.00 

Total S 499.54 

Total expenses S 203 24 

Net prolit 296.30 



■^Reprinted from January, 1920, issue of Reliable Poultry .luiirnal. 



Record of a Bacfc-Yard Flock Under 
Prewar Conditions 

At the Lower Prices Secured for Eggs Some Years Ago 

the Net Income per Fowl Was Much Less than 

Would Be Realized Now with Similarly Good 

Production, but Whether Prices Are 0' 

High or Low the Back-Yard •' 

Flock Is Profitable 

By W. J. WHITE, West Virginia '- 

''■"' HE following schedule shows the cost of 24 White 
-*- Leghorn pullets and two cockerels on the first day 
of October, 1910, together with the cost of feed, the num- 
ber and value of eggs produced, and the net profit result- 
ing from keeping the fowls for one year. Also there is 
included a table showing the daily egg production of 




BACK-YARD EQUIPPED FOR ADULT STOCK AND GROWING CHICKS 

Coops and houses are elevated to prevent rats from harboring underneath them. The trays on the foreground are covered with wire netting and 
are used in sprouting oats for green feed. Photo from United States Department of Agriculture. 



16 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 



these fowls for the year, from which it will be seen there 
was not a day in the year without at least one egg. This 
means a good deal to the back-yard poultry keeper who 
is much more interested in having production spread out 
over the year than in having it bunched in a few months 
with a longer or shorter period in the fall and early win- 
ter when no eggs at all are secured. 



The total number of eggs produced during the year was 
3,409, the average per hen being 142.5. 

DAILY RfX^ORI) «»F EGGS FROM OCTOBF.R 1, WIO 
TO .SEPTE.MBER 30, 1.911 -21 HENS 
'•Not a Day in the Year without an Eg?" 



^ '^ ^ 
P. < Tf 



■^ 5_ 



Date 
1910 
Oct. 
Oct. 
Oct. 
Oct. 
Nov. 
Nov. 
Nov. 
Nov. 
Nov. 
Nov. 
Dec. 
Dec. 
Dec. 
Dec. 
1911 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Jan. 
Feb. 
Feb. 
Mar. 
Mar. 
Mar. 
Alar. 
Apr. 
May 



-Account, 

Item 



October 1, 1910, to September. :il), 1!)11 



No. Eg 



1 — To 2 cockerels and 2 pullets 

1 — To 2 bushels wheat 

1 — To 2 bushels corn .. — — . 

1 — To 2 bushels oats 

1 — Bv 4 11-12 doz. egpy at .S5 cents. 

9 — To 2 bushels wheat --- 

9 — To 2 bushels corn 

9— To 2 bushels oats 

9 — To 85 lbs. oat straw 

9— To 100 lbs. oyster shell 

1 — Bv 7 5-12 doz. egi^s at 45 cents. . 

S — To 2 bushels wheat 

S — To 2 bushels oats -. . 

8 — To 2 bushels corn . 



Dr. 

,515,00 
2 50 
1.60 
1 00 

' 2".50 

1.40 

.90 

AR 

.75 

"'2''5'6 

.90 

1.40 



S 1.72 



1 — Bv 1.5 5-12 doz. eo:gs at 45 cents - 

21— To 1! bushels wheal 

21 — To 2 bushels corn — - 

21 — To 2 bushels oats 

1 — By 24 i dozen eggs at 32 cents. 

17 — To .\rmours Beef sciap, 25 lbs 

1— By 29 1-12 doz. eggs at 22! cents. 

4 — To 3 bushels wheat 

4 — To 3 bushels corn,. 

4 — To 3 bushels oats 

1 — By 35 7-12 doz. eggs at 20 cents. . 



.1S5 



..291 
.'-'349 



1 


70 


1 


20 




90 



.427 
.458 



470 
357 
341 



1— By 38 1-6 doz. eggs at 20 cents 

May 13 — To 50 lbs. scratch feed 

May 13— To 3 busbels wheat 

May 13 — To 3 bushels corn — .. 

May 13 — To 3 bushels oats 

June 1 — By 39 1-6 doz. eggs at 20 cents 
Julv 1 — Bv 29i doz. eggs at 22} cents.. 
Aug. 1— By 28 .5-12 doz. eggs at 22 cent; 

3— To 100 lbs. scratch feed ... 

22— To 1 bushel wheat. . -. 

22 — To 1 bushel eornc. , 

22 — To 1 bushel oats 

1 — Bv 23; doz. eggs at 25 cents 2S5 

Sept. 30 — By S 1-6 doz. eggs at 26 cents.. OS 

Sept. 30— H\- weight of chicken 91 lbs. at 14 cts- 
Keceipts over expenditures 



3.75 
l.SO 
1.35 



1,65 
3,75 
2.10 
1,35 



Aug. 
Aug. 
Aug. 
Aug. 
Sept. 



.00 
.25 
.80 
.55 



26,68 
.S82.51 



7.74 
'6"52 



7.12 
7.63 



7. S3 
6,69 
6,26 



5,93 
2 05 
12,74 



SS2,51 



1 


1 


3 


4 


7 


10 


13 


17 


19 


10 


12 


11 


fi 


9 


1 


1 


6 


t» 


12 


16 


13 


16 


18 


12 


10 


3 


3 


1 


3 


3 


8 


13 


17 


12 


17 


12 


12 


9 


4 


4 


9 


■1 


S _ 


7 


11 


10 


14 


15 


10 


14 


11 


7 


o 


1 


1 


4 


S 


14 


16 


16 


18 


14 


11 


4 


4 


6 


1 


9 


.S 


9 


11 


14 


14 


17 


15 


19 


15 


.9 


/ 


2 


."I 


4 


9 


12 


12 


11 


12 


14 


13 


9 


1 


8 


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9 


13 


15 


16 


12 


14 


/ 


11 


4 


9 


9 


3 


8 


10 


11 


15 


15 


18 


15 


11 


13 


3 


10 


9 


2 


4 


8 


13 


16 


12 


13 


9 


10 


9 


4 


11 


1 


4 


10 


10 


11 


10 


13 


13 


16 


10 


10 


.5 


12 


1 


4 


4 


6 


12 


14 


16 


13 


13 


11 


9 


3 


13 


1 


3 





4 


12 


14 


16 


16 


9 


11 


8 


5 


14 


9 


1 


7 


10 





12 


16 


15 


14 


9 


9 


4 


15 


2 


3 


o 


9 


13 


13 


14 


14 


7 


10 


9 


3 


16 


1 


.9 


4 


10 


9 


10 


16 


17 


12 


11 


7 


4 


17 


9 


1 


6 


9 


15 


18 


17 


17 


14 


10 


6 


3 


IS 


9 


4 


/ 


14 


12 


12 


13 


13 


12 


14 


12 


3 


19 


9 


3 


4 


S 


13 


15 


16 


15 


11 


13 


9 


3 


20 


3 


2 


7 


10 


13 


15 


16 


14 


11 


9 


6 


4 


21 


2 


6 


5 


10 


11 


9 


14 


14 


13 


12 


11 


1 


9.> 


2 


9 


6 


13 


16 


16 


19 


18 


10 


11 


9 


4 


23 


3 


4 


8 


9 


11 


14 


18 


15 


11 


12 


7 


3 


24 


9 


3 


(i 


9 


18 


12 


15 


13 


10 


12 


13 


2 


25 


2 


6 


■J 


13 


10 


15 


14 


15 


10 


14 


6 


2 


26 


3 


3 


8 


11 


13 


14 


18 


19 


11 


12 


11 


2 


27 


2 


9 


6 


10 


17 


16 


14 


14 


10 


10 


9 


1 


2.S 


9 


2 


,9 


12 


11 


12 


20 


19 


11 


10 


S 


1 


29 


3 


3 


7 


9 




17 


12 


18 


9 


U 


5 


1 


30 


4 


3 


4 


14 




16 


21 


14 


12 


11 


7 


3 


31 


3 




8 


10 




11 




17 




7 


9 


- 



59 89 185 291 



349 



427 458 480 357 341 285 598 



3, 109 

During the year the puUets averaged to lay 142 1-24 eggs each and the 
flock consumed 2,367 lbs. of grain and meat scrap, or an average of 90,6 lbs. 
The cost of feed, straw and oyster shell was S40.S3, or an average of ^1.57 
per bird. The eggs sold for S69,77 or at an average of 24,5 cents per dozen 

An average selling price of 24.3c per dozen looks de- 
cidedly small these days, but a net profit of over one 
dollar on each hen was considered "not so bad" in 1910. 



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PLENTY OF SHADE FOR THE BACK-YARD FLOCK HER«E 



Rows of sweet corn along the side of the back lawn protect the fowls from summer heat. 
to consider the comfort of the fowls. 



EDITOR [AI, NOTE: The following report is given partly to contrast 
condifiona before the war with the present, also to show how, with careful man- 
agement, the flock can be kept productive the year around. This is especially 
desirable to the back-yard poultry keeper who often attaches fully as much 
importance to having a constant supply of fresh eggs as to economy in cost. 
The second table presented by Mr. White shows that there was not a single 
day in the year when he did not secure at least one egg — a truly remarkable 
performanf-e. 

Made the Start Twelve Years Ago 

This New Jersey Back- Yard Flock Pays All Expenses and 

Returns a Substantial Cash Profit, in Additioi-i 

to Supplying the Home Table with All 

Eggs Used at no Cost Whatever 

By G. CHRIS HUBNER, New Jersey 
■" MADE my start in poultry keeping about twelve years 
ago, when, in the late fall, my mother disposed of her 
back-yard flock, and left me with eight or ten half-grown 
chickens that the butcher would not 
take — some chickens! After various 
ups and downs I discontinued poultry 
keeping for a time but made another 
start in midsummer of 1917, when I 
got in touch with a farmer, who, as 
he thought, was unloading some laid- 
out S. C. W. Leghorns. They looked 
good to me and I bought 15 hens for 
one dollar apiece. I got quite a few 
eggs from them but made no records. 
I held 13 of these hens, sold the other 
two and bought a cockerel for one 
dollar and he proved to be a very 
good one. 

From January, 1918, to December 
of the same year, with 13 White Leg- 
horns, I received 183 dozens of eggs; 
sold 93 dozens for $61.30 and received 
$19.55 for poultry sold during the 
year, making a total of receipts of 
$80.85. My expense for feed, etc., 
was $62.41, leaving me a cash profit 
of $18.44 besides 90 dozens of eggs 
It piiys jpj. ^.jjg home table. In January, 



REPORTS FROM SUCCESSFUL SMALL-FLOCK OWNERS 



17 



1919, I started with 21 hens and received 2,236 eggs to 
December; sold 98% dozens for $67.80; received for poul- 
try sold $122; making total receipts of $189.80. My ex- 
pense for maintenance was $1.37.4.5, making a profit of 
$52.35, and I had 88% dozens of eggs for the home. 

I now have a henhouse 16 by 14 
feet and expect to carry about 30 
birds this coming winter. House has an 
open front with curtains to let down 
at night, droppings boards, with 
plenty of ashes on them so the drop- 
pings do not freeze fast, a good spray 
pump at my right hand for pests, 
roosts that lift out and are easily 
sprayed, plenty of good cool, fresh 
water in summer, and just a little bit 
warmed in winter, with a homemade 
heater. I have plenty of litter on the 
floor, which I work up vidth a hay 
fork when feeding, also a dust bath 
in a sunny corner which they seem 
to enjoy very much, charcoal, grit 
and oyster shell before them at all 
times, also a good laying mash. 

This year I bought a 150-egg in- 
cubator and have had two good 
hatches. The first one was 99 chicks 
out of 119 fertile eggs and no crip- 
ples. April 8 I still had 92 good lively chicks. The sec- 
ond hatch I ran for a friend, getting 104 chicks out of 115 
fertile eggs with one cripple. I have now an order for 
25 pullets which I will sell and expect to make a nice 
profit from them, which will help pay expenses for main- 
taining the rest of the flock and the broilers are always 
good to eat, and can sell all I have at all times. 



ture in the fall before cold weather, so that they would 
lay during that time, and by using in the ration an ani- 
mal protein, which included either meat scrap or tankage. 
The house on the Wiggins' place is just an ordinary shed- 
roof affair and one which anyone in town who has a back 




PRACTICAL LOW-COST HOUSES FOR GROWING .STOCK OR LA.YERS 

These houses are quite inexpensive, being built of rough boards covered with narrow strips. Double 
muslin shutters are used and no glass, thus further reducing cost. Are well adapted to colony-hover 
brooding and to the use of growing stock and will accommodate good-sized laying flock. These bouses 
are built on runners for easy moving. 



yard may have. The grain is fed in straw litter so 
the chickens get plenty of exercise scratching for it. 



that 



Back-Yard Poultry Flocfc Nets Woman 
&4.36 Per Hen 

Back-Yard Poultry Keeping Pays the City Dweller Well, 

if Proper Methods Are Used in Handling the Fleck 

and a Good System of Management Is Followed 

By C. W. CARRICK, Purdue University 

T AST spring Mrs. E. G. Wiggins of Evansville set 
-^ 290 eggs and hatched 223 chicks. She sold 110 of 
the chicks and of the 103 remaining lost only one, a phe- 
nomenal record which indicated excellent care in handling 
the baby chicks. She kept the pullets raised for a laying 
flock, the average number of which for the year was 47. 
The total number of eggs laid was 7,272, or an average 
of 155 per hen. Hatching eggs sold brought $63.20 and 
those consumed at home or sold brought $263.98. Poultry 
sold brought $36.55, which represented the surplus from 
the flock, and baby chicks brought $18. The gain on the 
inventory of the stock showed $56, making a total cash 
return during the year of $453.88. Total expenses, in- 
cluding cost of feed ($206.05), value of stock purchases, 
interest on the investment of $285 at six per cent and de- 
preciation of stock were $248.90, leaving a net profit of 
$204.98, or an average of $4.36 per hen. 

Mrs. Wiggins was able to make this excellent record 
by hatching her chicks (which were Single Comb Mottled 
Anconas) in March, thus having pullets that would ma- 



A Good Egg Yield Every Montli in tlie Year* 

Another Small Flock That Is Profitably Productive the 

Year Around — Average Production 182 Eggs Per Hen 

By C. W. BARTELLS, Illinois 

T AM a back-yard poultry keeper, and aim to keep 
-*- about 20 hens and 20 pullets. Each summer or fall 
I replace the two-year-old hens with pullets as I keep 
them through only two laying seasons. During the first six 
months of 1919 I had 42 hens and pullets. I then sold 
18 hens and for the next three months had 24. The lat- 
ter part of September I added 20, making 44 hens and 
pullets for the last three months of the calendar year. 
My flock-average during the year was 38. The total pro- 
duction of the flock was 6,932 eggs or an average of 182 
per hen and the feed cost of the eggs produced averaged 
about 20 cents per dozen. 

My birds are English-Am.erican White Leghorns of 
a good laying strain, but not show birds. They laid quite 
heavily during the period of high-priced eggs, my aver- 
age price for the year being 50 cents per dozen. Living 
in town, we of course have to keep the hens penned up 
except an hour or so in the evening in the summer when 
I let them out on the lawn. My house is a cheap affair, 
open front facing south and tight on the other three sides. 
They have plenty of fresh air but no drafts. I keep the 
floor heavily covered with litter so that the birds have 
to scratch for all they get. In the evening after they 
have gone to roost, I scatter wheat or oats in the litter 
so they can get busy just as soon as they come off' the 
perches in the morning. I keep a hopper of commercial 
mash, and another of grit and oyster shell, before them 



^Reprinted from March. 1920. issue of Reliable Poultry Journal. 



18 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 



at ali times, and at night I feed them corn. Following is 
my record for the year: 

January - 556 eggs 

Februarj' : 759 egga 

March 970 eggs 

April 966 eggs 

May 864 eggs 

June 711 eggs 

July 393 eggs 

August __406 eggs 

September.- _-300 eggs 

October -- 369 eggs 

November 4S0 eggs 

December loS eggs 

Total - -6932 eggs 

Average per hen -. ...- . --182 oggs 

6,932, or 578 dozens at 50 cents per dozen- ..- S 2S9.00 

Feed, aside from table scraps, etc.,. — - ..- 120.00 

Profit - --;.-- S 169.00 

Per Hen 4 45 

Naturally I am very well pleased with the results, 
and feel that when it comes to economical egg production 
the White Leghorn beats them all. 



Receipts, Expenses and Net Gains 

Receipts from July 1, 1917, to .\iigu^t 17. 1918-.- 

Young stock on hand: 

14 Single Comb White Leghorn hens at .SI. 50 each 

11 Single Comb White Leghorn pullets at S2.00 each .... 

6 Barred Rock pullet= at .52.00 each 

1 Barred Rock cockerel at .S2.50 

5 White Leghorn cockerels at $2.50 each .-.. 

17 cockerels. Barred Rock for eating at $1.2.5 each - 

drain on hard: 

200 lbs. Purina Mash at &i.nO .- , . 

400 lbs. Purina Mash at S4..50 



21,00 
22 00 
12 OO 
2.5& 
12.50 
21.25 

9.00 
18.00 



Total - -. -$ 422. 3,> 

Feed and other expenses from July 1, 1917, to Aug. 17, 1918 259.25 



Net Gain.-- $ 163.10 

Now the 70 young chicks (total that T raised) cost 
me $43.15 to raise to the age of four months, as the price 
of feed is high and I use only the best grades. I sold 
the pullets and cockerels, mentioned below, at four months 
of age, as follows: 



23 Barred Rock pullets at Sl.oO each -. 

2 Barred Rock cockerels at $1.25 (3 months old). 
5 Barred Rock cockerels at S2.00 each. . 



•34.. 50 
2., 50 
10.00 



Back- Yard Poultry Keeping Yields 
Good Profits* 

With Good-Quality Stock, Etc., Sales of Eggs for Hatch- 
ing and Breeding Fowls Add Materially to the Profits 

That Can Be Realized From a Small Flock 
By IRVIN A. BRINKMAN, Pennsylvania 
T HAVE been keeping chickens for the last six years, 
-*■ most of the time Single Comb White Leghorns, but 
for the last two years I have had Barred Rocks. I am 
enclosing a photo of my house, 8 by 
20 feet, fitted with removable fixtures, 
and I wish to say that it is the most 
convenient poultry house I ever saw 
I have it furnished with metal hoji 
pers and two-gallon water cans that 
are made in two parts so that they 
can be taken apart and thoroughly 
cleaned. 

I also have a hundred-egg Prairie 
State incubator and a hundred-chick 
size Prairie State hover. All this 
equipment, including house and yards, 
incubator, hover, fixtures for interior 
of house and fixtures for the young 
chicks HAVE BEEN PAID FOR BY 
THE CHICKENS. 

Now for what I have done thir> 
spring. My chickens were hatched 
the first week of April and the pul- 
lets and cockerels mentioned in my 
account herewith rendered were sold 
at four months of age. These chicks 

were all raised on a city lot. My Leghorn pullets, now four 
and one-half months old, are developing rapidly and sev- 
eral I feel sure vi'ill be laying at five months old, which 
is not unusual with Leghorns. 

In the general account of the year's receipts are in- 
cluded hatching eggs and some year-old Barred Rock hens 
and one Barred Rock cock sold as breeders, as well as 
eggs we sold for table use, for which I received as high 
as 80c a dozen last winter. 

These prices for stock, as given above, are conserva- 
tive. The same grade of stock could not be purchased 
from any large breeder at anywhere near the same prices. 

♦Reprinted from October, 1918, issue of Reliable Poultry Journal. 



Total 



47.00 
43.15 



30 chickens 

C'ost of raising sanie. .. 

Net cash gai n - - $ 3 . 8.5 

Besides I have left for my own use, as inventoried 
above in statement with receipts: 

Barred Rock puUets at, S2,n3 each $ 12.00 

11 S. C. White Leghorn puUets at $2.03 each 22.00 

1 Barred Rock cockerel at S2.50 . 2.50 

5 S. C, White Leghorn cockerels at $2,.5ll each --. 12.50 

17 Barred Rock cockerels ffor eating) at $1,25 each ._ ._ 21.25 

S 70,25 

Plus cash ga in - - 3 . 85 

Total prolit on stock raised above mentioned .. ? 71.10 




POULTRY YARD OF A SUCCESSFUL BACK-LOTTER 

Illustration shows the'attractive little poultry plant of IrWn A. Brinkman. It has proved to be truly 
prohtable, also the source of real enjoyment. See interesting report herewith. 

My egg records are given below: 



1917 Eggs 
.July 1S3 

-August 146 

September, .. -.. 113 

October- -- -_. 27 

November .. 62 

December - 2.32 



19 IS Eggs 

Januar.v 280 

February 426 

March 550 

April 557 

May 490 

Juno 417 

.luly --..-. 345 

August 17 days - 145 

3,970 eggs 



I have just given 



3:W 5-6 days 

The hens are all still laying well, 
the above records up to date. 

I also would add that I have only lost one hen in 
six years from sickness. The past season I lost only 10 
chicks from 80 hatched and they were lost the first week, 
due to extremely cold and wet weather. 



CHAPTER III 



TFie Back- Yard Poultry Plant as a Source of Profit 



Success in Poultry Keeping for Profit Is Largely an Individual Matter — It Is Well Adapted to the Requirements of a 

Side-Line Occupation — Can Be Started on a Small Scale, With Limited Capital, Increasing as 

Experience Warrants — With Reasonable Industry Success Is Assured 




HOSE who have sufficient room and time to 
care for fowls in numbers greater than are 
needed to meet the requirements of the home 
table find that with proper management they 
can make their flocks an important source of 
income. Owing to restricted space the methods adopted 
necessarily are intensive, often highly so, and to this there 
are certain well-known objections, such as greater labor 
cost, danger of soil contamination, etc., but there also 
are some compensating advantages. However, there is 
not a great deal of difference between the methods prac- 
ticed by the back-yard poultry keeper and those regularly 
followed by many successful commercial egg farmers, 
aside from the fact that the former often is seriously hand- 
icapped in raising young stock. It is possible to raise 
chicks in confinement with excellent results, but the diffi- 
culties sometimes are serious and many find it desirable 
to limit their efforts to egg production, purchasing a sup- 
ply of pullets in the fall and killing or selling most or 
all of these at the end of their first laying season. 

As regards the advisability of going into any branch 
of poultry keeping on either a small or a large scale, each 
person must make his ovirn decision. This book could be 
filled with reports of those who have taken up the work 
with entire success. On the other hand, many pages could 
be filled with the lamentations of those who through illy 
considered ventures, personal misfortunes, or plain unfit- 
ness, have failed. With but few exceptions the profits 
in poultry keeping, whether it is a small back-yard en- 
terprise or on a scale so large as to demand all of one's 
time, rest solely with the individual. Those who have 
access to good markets, who adopt correct methods, and 
who industriously apply themselves to the work are prac- 
tically assured of reasonable returns. Unfortunately 
there are many who have little idea of what will be re- 
quired of them in the way of effort, who do not understand 
the importance of being well and accurately informed, 
and who have greatly exaggerated expectations. Among 
these disappointment and failure are common- — but not 
any more so than is the case in other lines of work at- 
tempted under similarly unfavorable conditions. 

Poultry keeping as a means of livelihood appeals to 
many men and women who, for one reason or another, 
want an outdoor occupation that does not place too severe 
a tax upon physical strength. Others look favorably upon 
it because it is supposed to require little capital. The 
work is comparatively light, if well planned, and it is prob- 
able that those who are physically weak are less handicap- 
ped in this industry than in most others coming under the 
head of manual labor. In the matter of capital, however, 
the expectations of many are misleading. It is true that 
poultry keeping can be started on an extremely limited 
investment and in a term of years a substantial business 
may be developed from such a small beginning. But in 
one way or another a poultry plant accommodating sev- 
eral hundred fowls calls for the investment of a good deal 



of capital and it is unwise to start on a small scale with 
the expectation of building up by the process of natural 
growth, without some definite means of earning a liveli- 
hood during the growing period. The attempt to 
make the small poultry plant finance important improve- 
ments and extensions and support the owner at the same 
time is apt to result in privation or extremely slow growth, 
or both. 

Strictly speaking, all lines of poultry keeping are open 
to the small-plant operator. He can successfully produce 
anything that the poultry farmer or the general farmer 
finds profitable. But all lines are not equally practical 
under his conditions, and profits and personal satisfaction 
in the work (the latter a truly important consideration) 
will depend quite largely upon the wisdom of the choice 
made. In deciding this point much will depend upon the 
individual's other employment. The local market also 
should be carefully studied since the small-scale operator 
does not, as a rule, ship his products but must rely upon 
the neighbors to take all surplus. The nature of the soil 
also must be considered, as some things are practical on 
sandy, well-drained soil that it would be unwise to at- 
tempt on clay soil. 

The various lines of production open to the back-yard 
poultry keeper may be listed as follows: 

Eggs for table use. 

Broilers. 

Table fowls. 

Day-old chicks and eggs for hatching. 

Breeding and exhibition stock. 

Eggs for Table Use 

One of the safest and most easily mastered, as well 
as most profitable branches of the industry, is the pro- 
duction of eggs for table use. Starting on a small scale, 
the flock can be developed rapidly, as experience and de- 
mand justify. The majority of small -plant operators find 
at their doors a fine retail market for their products, often 
one that will pay a premium for eggs of superior quality 
such as may be produced on any small plant with proper 
methods and prompt marketing. The opportunity to sell 
at retail prices, without expense for transportation, com 
missions, etc., often more than overcomes the handicap 
that the small-plant producer is under on account of his 
somewhat higher feed and labor costs. 

The small-plant operator need not feel any concern 
about the possibility of realizing a good profit in market 
egg production with well-managed flocks. He should, 
however, clearly understand that his margin of profit per 
dozen eggs depends quite largely upon the average pro- 
duction of the fowls. A low average means little or no 
profit in every instance. Stock of good breeding, early- 
hatched pullets, correct feeding and proper methods of 
care, INSURE high average egg yields; and wnth reason- 
ably good management, high averages mean good profits 
to the poultry keeper, ALWAYS. 



20 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 



Raising Broilers for Profit 

There are a number of reasons why broiler raising 
appeals to the poultry keeper who has to conduct his oper- 
ations within limited space. During the "broiler season" 
prices are high and demand is good. Chicks that are sold 
at 1 to 2 pounds weight require little yardroom, and quite 
a large number can be produced within the limits of an 




EARLV-HATCHED CHICKS A SOURCE OF INCOME TO THE 
SMALL-PLANT PRODUCER 

.■Vbovo illustration shows a flock of SO Rhode Island Red chicks averagiDg 
to weigh 1^ lbs. at time photo was taken — May 17. Cockerels in such a flock 
can be sold lor broilers at top prices for the season, and the pullets should be 
laying early in the fall 

ordinary back yard. Broiler raising, however, is not one 
of the simplest branches of the industry and should never 
be undertaken on a large scale by the inexperienced. Un- 
der average conditions the period during which they can 
be profitably raised is short. In winter, the high price 
of eggs, coupled with low fertility and the extra expense 
of brooding, makes the cost of production extremely high. 
Late in the season when low-cost farm-raised broilers 
flood the market, prices drop to levels that afford no 
profit whatever to the poultry specialist. For these 
reasons the average person finds that profitable broiler 
raising is practically limited to those that can be sold 
from April to July, though under especially favorable 
Eiarket conditions production can profitably be extend- 
ed over a wider period of time. 

Early in the season there is a fairly good market for 
what are known as "squab broilers" — chicks that weigh 
from 1 to 1V4 pounds live weight. As the season advances 
the market requires larger size and, except under special 
conditions, the bulk of the small-plant broiler product, 
where the larger breeds are kept, will usually be sold as 
regular broilers or when 1% to 2 pounds each, live weight. 
Chicks can be brought to squab-broiler size in a compara- 
tively short time and it is not unusual for experienced 
poultry keepers to place their surplus cockerels on the 
market at eight weeks of age, or even less. Three months 
should be the limit of time required to produce 2-pound 
broilers in the larger breeds. If the chicks are of Leg- 
horn breeding it is much better to sell them by the time 
they have reached this age, even though they may not be 
full size. As a matter of fact, the average Leghorn breed- 
er aims to sell his surplus cockerels as quickly as he can 
find someone to take them off his hands, regardless of 
their weight or age. 

The high point in the broiler market usually is 
reached in April or May. Earlier than that the demand 
is comparatively limited, and after that date prices begin 
to fall off. The broiler grower, therefore, will aim to 



have just as many chicks as possible to market about this 
time. If he has suitable equipment for brooding at this 
season (a highly important "if"), his first hatches may be 
brought off by the first of February. 

At the Western Washington Experiment Station an 
experiment was recently carried out to learn the exact 
cost of raising broilers, the results of which will interest 
many. The following condensed report of the test is from 
a monthly bulletin from that institution: 

"In order to secure definite costs on the broiler ques- 
tion 100 cockerels were selected from a room brooder flock 
of 4-week-old chicks. These were not selected for size, 
as would be normal handling for marketing, but where 
taken as they came, the endeavor being to secure the same 
chicks that we would otherwise kill. As a consequence, 
these cockerels were not very uniform and some males 
weighed much more than others. The 100 chicks weighed 
at this period 39% pounds, or 6.32 ounces each. 

"The consumption of the various feeds for each suc- 
ceeding week until the birds were marketed is here given, 
and it is also explained that the oats fed were germinated 
to about 1-8 inch sprouts, so that the 3 1-2 pounds dry 
oats charged in the first week's ration were really about 
8 pounds of sprouted oats. There was also a scarcity of 
milk on the farm and the amount given was rather less 
than they could consume. The tenth week milk was used 
in a sloppy mash fed in the fattening crate. At the end 
of the fifth week 2 cockerels died and three more died at 
the end of the sixth week. Ninety-five birds were car- 
ried through the feeding test, but only the 90 males were 
marketed." 

STATEMENT OF COST OF FEF.D 
llsed in Proiliicing Broilers at W. Wasliiiigtoii E.\p. Station 

.5th week $ 1-51 

6th week.... 2.19 

7th week 2.19 

8lh week 2.68 

9th week 3.65 

10 days fattening crate 4. 33 

Total S1G.S5 

90 birds, shipping weight 107 lbs., weight at market 96 lbs., at 30 c ..S 23.80 
Less express .- "^^ 

Total $28. at 

Cost of feed, 90 cockerels and 5 pullets... 16.55 

Balance.. S 11.49 

The average price paid for day-old chicks this year was about 15 cents 
each, and the average cost of raising till four weeks old, including feed, heat, 
and brooder deaths as determined from reports of some twenty-five local 
raisers, was 15 cents each. The actual cash cost to the poultryman of each 
1-pound cockerel raised to market .age, according to the above records, is as 
follows ; 

Cost of chick .. S -15 

Raising to four weeks .15 

Fourth week to market age .175 

Market weight, 1 pnimd — Cost.. — .- 3 .475 

The foregoing figures show that it would be unwise 
for the intensive poultry keeper to attempt raising broil- 
ers during the low-price season unless especially favor- 
able arrangements can be made for marketing them. 

Any of the popular breeds may be employed success- 
fully in the production of broilers. Chickens with white 
or buff feathers present a much more attractive appear- 
ance than those having dark-colored pinfeathers and par- 
ticularly where the broilers are to be dressed and a special 
trade catered to, it pays to avoid dark-colored breeds. 
Some markets have no prejudice against white-skinned 
birds but the average consumer demands yellow-skinned 
chickens, and it is poor policy to go contrary to a definite 
preference along this line. 

Production of Table Fowls 

The production of table fowls, by which is meant 
roasters, capons, etc., is one of the least desirable branches 
of the industry for the specialist. The margin of profit 
is comparatively low and the successful, economical rais- 
ing of fowls to adult size calls for more range than the 
average small-plant operator can provide. There is, in 



THE BACK-YARD POULTRY PLANT AS A SOURCE OF PROFIT 



21 



some sections, a good market for fowls of special quality, 
but few markets pay enough for table poultry to make it 
profitable to undertake their production extensively, ex- 
cept on farms where they can be raised at minimum cost. 
As has already been stated, those who are operating 
in close quarters usually will find it to their advantage 
to dispose of their surplus young stock as broilers. Par- 
ticularly where the pullets are to be raised to maturity, 
these need all the room that can be given them. One 
of the small-plant operator's most serious mistakes is 
in attempting to keep more fowls than he has sufficient 
room for, and this is particularly objectionable where pul- 
lets are raised to replace the laying flock. These, if 
crowded in their houses or yards and subjected to the 
annoyance of maturing cockerels, will make much slower 
growth and will require several weeks more time in 
which to reach laying maturity than when raised under 
more favorable conditions. 

Day-Old Chicks for Profit 
The production of day-old chicks, using hatching eggs 
from near-by breeders or fanciers, requires practically 
no space aside from that occupied by the incubators, and 
persons living in towns have found the industry highly 
profitable. Since the chicks are sold right from the incu- 
bator, little brooding equipment is needed except whatever 
provision may be made for emergencies. The ordinary 
house cellar will accommodate quite a number of lamp- 
heated machines, or even a small mammoth, and thousands 
of chicks can be produced there in a season. There is a 
market for day-old chicks in every community and, as a 
rule, sales are limited only by the number of good strong 
chicks that the operator is able to bring out. Because 
there is no outdoor work or heavy labor involved, hatching 
day-old chicks is well suited to women. 

What has been said in regard to limited space re- 
quired is based on the assumption that the eggs used are 
to be bought from near-by breeders or farmers having 
standard-bred fowls. Farm flocks, if of good breeding, 
are especially desirable as a source of supply. They 
usually have open range and are rarely pushed for heavy 
production, so that their eggs are 
highly fertile, and the chicks are 
strong and will live and grow if giv- 
en half a chance. 

Where good stock is kept, the 
sale of eggs for hatching may always 
be made an important source of profit. 
Given strong, vigorous, well-developed 
birds for the breeding pens, the small- 
plant operator can secure as good 
fertility as any, and the chicks 
hatched from his matings will be 
strong and vigorous, IF DUE CARE 
IS TAKEN TO OFFSET A LACK OF 
ROOM BY PROVIDING COMPUL- 
SORY EXERCISE. 

In planning to produce either 
eggs for hatching or day-old chicks 
it is important clearly to understand 
the preference of the local market as 
to breeds. It is not advisable to at- 
tempt to develop a trade in chicks 
or hatching eggs of fancy breeds or 
those that are little known in the lo- 
cality where sales are to be made. 
Plymouth Rocks, Wyandottes, Rhode 



Island Reds nnd Leghorns are always in demand, and in 
some localities Anconas, Orpingtons, Brahmas, Langshans, 
etc., are also salable in good numbers. But before ven- 
turing much with the latter breeds be sure there is a mar- 
ket. It is not advisable to undertake chick hatching on 
too large a scale at first. Start with a few lamp-heated 
machines and GET GOOD ONES. When the beginner is 
certain that he knows how to operate them successfully 
and can bring oif strong, vigorous chicks, he then can 
safely increase his hatching capacity to any desired ex- 
tent, and will find a ready market, as a rule. 
Breeding Exhibition Stock 

This subject is considered last, not because it is least 
profitable, but because fewer persons are apt to succeed 
in this line of the industry than in the production of market 
poultry products. Thousands of back-yard breeders have 
demonstrated that fowls of superior exhibition quality can 
be produced within the most restricted quarters, but it 
must be admitted that not all are adapted to this branch 
of the industry. Every person who keeps fowls at all 
should keep standard-bred stock of good quality, but only 
those should attempt to breed exhibition stock who take 
real interest in the work. 

The chief practical difficulty in raising exhibition 
stock lies in the fact that the birds, both young and adult, 
need more room than the average small-plant operator 
has available. It should be appreciated that the quality 
of the stock produced depends quite largely upon the con- 
ditions under which it is raised. Birds that have free 
range and that are not crowded will grow into much finer 
specimens than would be the case if they were raised 
under ordinary small-plant conditions. There are, of 
course, various ways in which the diflSculties peculiar to 
a lack of room can be met and overcome. Breeding pens 
can be successfully kept in even the most limited space 
and small numbers of chicks of the best quality raised if 
they receive proper attention. This is not likely to be 
given, however, unless the owner finds genuine interest 
and pleasure in the work. 




INTENSIVE BACK-YARD PLANT WITH COVERED YARDS 

Houses have board floors, and earth in covered runs is renewed four times a year. Hens in one flock 
averaged to lay 186 eggs each. About 70 hens are kept here — and are an important source of income. 
Photo" from United States Department of .Agriculture. 



CHAPTER I V 

Helpful Reports From Money- Making Flocfcs 

Complete Data Are Here Given in Regard to Receipts and Expenses in Commercial Egg Production Under Present 

Conditions — Several Detailed Reports Are Presented, Describing the Success of Persons Operating 

on Limited Acreage and Employing Intensive Methods, Such as Are 

Applicable to Town-Lot Conditions Generally 




N THIS CHAPTER are presented a number 
of interesting accounts of persons who have 
made poultry keeping a more or less important 
source of income under back-yard conditions 
or with quite limited acreage. These should 
.prove helpful and encouraging to others who are inter- 
ested in learning the possibilities of poultry keeping as 
a source of additional income or who look forward to de- 
veloping a small back-yard flock to the point where it 
can be depended upon as the sole means of livelihood. 
Many of these reports are based upon prewar conditions, 
when net profits were lower than at present, but they 
perhaps afford a fairer indication of the results that may 
reasonably be expected from intelligent and industrious 
effort. By way of showing what poultry keepers are 
actually accomplishing at present we give herewith the 
following data from "Hints to Poultrymen," a monthly 
publication of the Poultry Department of the New Jersey 
Experiment Station. This department has access to the 
complete 1918 records of a number of New Jersey com- 
mercial egg farms keeping from 50 to 800 hens, and 
through the compilation of these records it is possible to 
present a fair average of their returns for that year. 

"At the present time this table presents averages 
which may be taken as standards to be referred to by 
commercial egg farmers for comparison from time to time 
with their own egg production, feed consumption and other 
details. Some plants of course did better than the aver- 
age while others did not do as well. These averages are 
based on a number of plants in different parts of the state 
and represent what one might expect from a one-man egg 
farm. This table also presents a comparison of the year's 
report of the average farm with a report from the farm 
that made the greatest total return, as well as the best 
return per bird. On a careful study of this comparison 
one will note several interesting facts. First and most 
significant is the difference in the egg production per bird. 
Although the proprietor of this farm received 4.6 cents 
less per dozen than the average, and paid 34 cents per 
hundred more for his feed, and although his birds con- 
sumed more feed per bird by six pounds than did the av- 
erage, his increased egg production was enough to more 
than offset this. His feed cost per dozen eggs was ac- 
tually 3.2 cents less than the feed cost per dozen eggs 
on the average farm, and his net returns per bird were 
$2.01 more than the average. 

"This detailed summary of costs will be of especial 
interest to those who contemplate going into the produc- 
tion of eggs in a commercial way and want to know what 
it costs to feed hens and what revenue they return in the 
way of market eggs at current prices. Never before to 
our knowledge has so much accurate inside information on 
production costs been made available." 

With reference to the following table it is fair to add 
that the profits there shown probably are greater than 
have ever before been realized in commercial egg pro- 

22 



duction. Whether similarly good results can be secured 
indefinitely in the future no one can say with certainty, 
but if the reports given in this chapter, showing results 
secured before prices reached their present extraordinary 
high levels, are taken into consideration along with the 
New Jersey data, there would appear to be little excuse 
for the beginner being misled as to what he may reason- 
ably expect under fairly normal conditions. 

RECORDS OV THE BEST FARM COMPAREB WITH THOSE OF 
AVERAGE FARM* 

Best AvcraKC 

Project Farm Project Farm 

Number of Birrls - 992 970 

Mumber of Eggs 172985 115268 

Percent Production 48 34,4 

Feed per Dozen Kggs (lbs.) G 7.5 

Feed Cost per Dozen Eggs 22. 8c 26c 

Total Cost per Dozen Eggs 29c 36o 

Price per Dozen Eggs 57.3c 61.9c 

Returns on Eggs $ 77SS.9S S 5571.85 

Mash Consumed (lbs.) 53450 37384 

Cost of Mash $ 2033.89 $ 1303.84 

Cost of Mash per cwt ..- $ 3.80 3.48 

Sen-itch Consumed (lbs.) .33100 34861 

Cost of Scratch S 1256.43 S1198.17 

Cost of Scratch per cwt S 3.80 S 3,45 

Total Feed (lbs.)- 86550 72245 

Total Cost of Feed S 3290.32 $ 2502.01 

Total Cost of Feed per cwt S 3.80 S 3.46 

Return over Feed -5 4198.66 i 2915.54 

Table Poultry Sold ...S 31.63 S 426.20 

Hatching Eggs Sold S 472.64 S 265.24 

B.iby Chicks Sold.. S 275.92 

Stock Sold S 1224.11 S 605.81 

Return on .Manure -S 402.90 S 84.39 

Miscellaneous Returns S 192.15 S 422.52 

Extra Labor S 317. .30 S 247.00 

Freight and Express S 146.69 S 69.96 

Stock Bought $ 60.00 $ 35.34 

Miscellaneous Expenses S 376.91 $ 56S.3S 

Total Returns $10112.31 $ 7651.93 

Total Expenses .? 4191.22 S 3422.69 

Net Return (exclusive of interest and deprecia- 

ation) S 5921.99 $ 4229.24 

Per cent Mort.ility 2.5 12.3 

.AVERAGES PER BIRD 

Number of Eggs 174 126 

Return on Eggs ...S 7.85 -5 6.08 

Mash Consumed (lbs.) 53.9 41.5 

Cost of Mash S 2.05 $ 1.44 

Scratch Consumed (lbs.) .. 33.3 37.3 

Cost of Scratch $ 1.26 S 1.25 

Total Feed (lbs.) 87.2 78.8 

Total Cost of Feed... S 3.31 S 2.69 

Returns over Feed. S 4.54 S 3.39 

Miscellaneous Returns S 0.20 $ 0.97 

Extra Labor Cost S 0.32 $ 0.28 

Total Receipts S 10.20 S 8.62 

Total Expenses. . ., S 4-22 $ 3.90 

Net Return (exclusive of interest and depre- 
ciation) S 5.98 S 4.68 

BEST FARM BAL.ANCE SHEET 

Inventory as of November 1, 1918 

Land. .1 acres S 1000.00 

Bmldings 3335.00 

Efiuipment 535 . 00 

Implements and Machinery 163.00 

Incubators and Brooders 350.00 

Stock (1075 birds) 2700.00 

Inventory as of November 1, 1919, (Increased Num- 
ber of Birds. 2S6, improvements installed and ex- 
tra feed) S 8,803.00 

Total Operating Expenses (exclusive of interest and 

depreciation) 4 191. 22 

Interest on Investment at 4 per cent — 319.32 

Depreciation at 5 per cent 399.15 

Total Income (exclusive of invested income) 10112.31 

.S12992.69 
Labor Income (1075 birds) 5922.62 

J18915.31 .$18915.31 

Labor Income per Bird :.^ S 5.51 

'Reprinted from "Hints to Poultrymen," Vol. 8, No. 4, N. J. Exp. Station. 



HELPFUL REPORTS FROM MONEY-MAKING FLOCKS 



23 



AVERAGE PROJECT FARM BALANCE SHEET 
Inventory as of Novenibor 1, lOIS 

Land, 32 Acres --- --« ;UU6.fJ7 • 

Buildings . --- 5023,00 

Equipment - - - - - - 075 00 

Implements and Machinery — 125 00 

Incubators and tirooders ..,. 40ij-50 

Stock (970 birds) 2271 00 

Inventory- as of Noveniber ] , 1919 (Increased number 

of birds. 80 improvements installed and extra 

feed) - 

'I'ofal Operating Expenses (exclusive of interest and 

depreciation) - ---^ 3-101.55 

Interest on Investment at 4 per cent 510.68 

Depreciation at 5 per cent - 643 . 35 

Total Income (exclusive of invested income) 

.1517122.75 
Labor Income (970 birds) 3389.96 

S20S12.71 S208!2,71 
Labor Iim'ouk^ per Bird _. — . S 3 50 



.'S1313S.97 



7373 . 74 



IVJaking a Living From Poultry* 

Three Hundred Head of Layers and Seven (o EiRht Hun- 
dred Chicks per Year Yield a Comfortable Living 
and Some Money to Bank for a Rainy Day 

By A. F. HUNTER 

''W^ HERE is no question more insistent than, "can 
I make a living from poultry?" Now and then we 
meet with a concrete illustration which so completely 
answers the question that it is a pleasure to describe 
what the poultry keeper is doing and how he is doing it. 
Such a case is that of a Mr. Clark, living in a town 
some twenty miles south of Boston, who makes a good 
living from poultry on a little two- 
acre "farm!" 

Some captious critics might claim 
that "the living" was not all made 
from poultry because the liberal sup- 
ply of vegetables from a well-culti- 
vated garden and quantities of fruit 
from the trees and bushes on the 
place are considerable aids to the ta- 
ble supply for the family of three, but 
a garden and fruit for home use are 
always considered as parts of the 
country-home good things. One of 
the decided advantages of a home in 
the country is that we can have those 
things, and when we are talking 
about making a living from poultry 
we always have in mind the delicious 
fresh vegetables and fruits from 

the garden as part of the living. Mr. Clark, however, 
m.akes more clean cash from his poultry work alone than 
the majority of workingmen can command. 

Mr. Clark told us he worked for many years in a 
machine shop in southern New Hampshire. Being nat- 
urally "thrifty" he had saved a portion of his wages and 
owned his home. Some poultry had been kept while living 
in New Hampshire, but a better location was desired and 
so, after looking about and studying locations, this little 
farm was found and bought, and it seems about as desirable 
a place for a small poultry plant as we have ever visited. 
The advantage of choosing a good location is well illus- 
trated by the fact that Mr. Clark can sell his place today 
for substantially more than he paid for it. 

To have one's place steadily increasing in value is a 
decided advantage; it gives one a comfortable feeling 
about the pocket. Mr. Clark is past middle age and will 
not be inclined to quarrel over our speaking of him as 



"elderly," and hi.s success at this age clearly points the 
way for others to escape from the confinement and wor- 
ries of life in a city. 

Another advantage of Mr. Clark's location is that he 
does not have to keep a horse. The trolley line to town 
passes his door and the country store and local post office 
are directly across the street. His plot of ground is long 
and narrow, being but little more than a hundred feet 
along the street, but widening out somewbat at the rear; 
away back the land gradually slopes down into the mead- 
ow of a little stream which flows north. Mr. Clark said 
that when the water was high in the spring of the 
year the low land was under water, and at such times 
he doubted if he had two acres, but when the water has 
subsided again, he is inclined to believe there is some more 
than the prescribed "two acres." This low ground, how- 
ever, makes splendid range for growing pullets in summer, 
as such ground is always blessed with many worms and 
insects for the chicks to capture. 

Mr. Clark winters about 300 head of layers and grows 
each season some 700 to 800 head of chicks. White Ply- 
mouth Rocks and R. I. Reds are the varieties kept, as he 
has found these two to be the best for both eggs and soft 
roasters. Of soft roasters he sells about five hundred in 
a season. One of the advantages of his location is that 
everything can be sold alive, at the door, and at good prices. 
With the close competition thafexists between soft roaster 
buyers, the prices they pay for the product are all that 




^Reprinted from .\pril, 1915, issue of Reliable Poultry .Journal. 



COLONY HOUSES FOR GROWING STOCK ON THE CLARK POULTRY PLANT 

Note the stones that are laid on top of the coops to prevent their blowiiig over. See accompanying 
interesting article for details regardini; this money-making little poultry "farm." 

can be paid with safety. In late summer and fall, also, 
there is a good demand for hatching eggs from which to 
grow soft roasters, and for these 50c a dozen is paid at 
the door. There is a very fair profit from eggs sold for 
this purpose. 

Mr. Clark's poultry buildings are mostly set along a 
line extending from the re.ir of the dwelling house straight 
back to the west. There is a brooder house 50 by 12 feet, 
in which are five Cyphers' brooders, accommodating 500 
chicks. There is a coal stove near the middle of this 
house for keeping out the extreme cold in winter. There 
is a laying house 72 by 10 feet, divided into four pens 18 
by 10 feet in size, and yards 85 by 18 feet with apple 
trees for shade. This long house is extended by having 
added to it several small houses which have been bought 
of the shoe factory workers of that section. These shoe 
men, as they are called, are frequently changing from one 
locality to another, and there are quite a few opportu- 
nities to buy these small henhouses from them. 



24 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 



As would be expected, the greater part of Mr. Clark's 
"farm" is given over to poultry yards and chick range, 
the consequence being that outside of the garden and the 
coarse grass meadow near the little brook, the ground is 
entirely bare of green stuff, and it is necessary to obtain 
a supply of green feed. To supply this Mr. Clark sows 




FEED ROOM AND BROODER HOUSE ON POULTRY PLANT OF 
MR8. IIOBELL 

On this smaH poultry plant Mrs. Hobcll ha-* realizorl from S.500 to .S600 
annually, thus adding materially to the family incoinf-'. 



a bit of ground four rods square with winter rye, and 
when he begins to use this, another small patch is sown 
to oats to follow the rye as a green food, and another 
small patch is sown with fodder corn to follow the oats. 
These green crops carry the birds through the spring, 
summer and early fall, the green stuff being cut fine in 
a cutter and fed a? a regular ration. Cabbages are 
grown in parts of the garden where early peas, etc., have 
been harvested, and these are supplemented by turnips, 
which, with kitchen waste, specked fruit, etc., carry the 
layers through the winter. 

The apple trees, well loaded with attractive looking 
fruit, and the thrifty looking plum, peach and cherry 
trees, indicated that the combination of poultry keeping 
with fruit growing was quite satisfactory. The pri- 
mary object of the fruit trees, how- 
ever, is shade for the laying stock con- 
fined to the houses and yards, and 
shade is absolutely essential for the 
comfort of the birds. 

This little farm gives Mr. Clark 
and his family a good living. We 
did not ask him just how many dollars 
he could get out of his products in 
a twelve-month, but we do know, from 
information given us by friends liv- 
ing in the town and a poultry buyer 
of the section, that the annual cash 
income is substantially larger than 
Mr. Clark ever took out of his pay 
envelopes! There is ample evidence 
in and about the home of a comfort- 
able condition of the pocketbook, and 
there is a safe balance in the bank in 
case it should come on to rain one 
of these days. 



A Comfortable Living on Two Acres* 

This Colorado Poultryman Has Been Keeping Poultry Suc- 
cessfully for Fourteen Years — Fifteen Hundred 
Chickens Raised Last Year With a Loss 
of Less than Four Per Cent 

By CHAS. H. BARTLETT, Colorado 

EDITORLAL NOTE: Mr. Bartlett is a successful 
poultryman of long experience and what he states in his 
report can be relied on, both as to statement of fact and 
advice given. For years he has made a good living 
by the sale of eggs produced from 1,000 to 1,200 Leg- 
horn layers. His entire output of market eggs is taken 
by one hotel. He uses less than two acres of ground for 
his fowls, including the land used for the house in which 
are located his outdoor brooders. What Mr. Bartlett is 
doing thousands of other persons can do, provided they 
are as favorably located, use the same intelligence and give 
close personal attention to the work in hand. 



d \ UR poultry plant occupies two acres of ground, about 
^-' eighteen blocks from the business district. We have 
all the accommodations of the city and none of its disadvan- 
tages. On this piece of ground we keep from 1,000 to 
1.200 S. C. White Leghorns the year round. We decided 
to turn our attention to egg production rather than show 
birds, so chose the White Leghorns, as we consider them 
the best year-around layers. We have a good local mar- 
ket and sell all our market eggs at good prices. 

We built our houses of drop siding and have them 
lathed and plastered, with good matched floors. They are 
about 4 feet high at the rear, 8 feet in the center and 
5% feet in the front. These proportions give plenty of 
room, without having much waste space to heat. We do 
not supply any artificial heat, as the hens do the heating. 
The particular house just described is 100 feet long, and 
is divided (by wire partition only) into eight pens, each 
accommodating 65 hens. This house faces east and has 
a scratch pen 8 feet wide built the entire length, with 
windows and drop doors to use in summer. Each pen 
has a yard measuring 12 by 70 feet. We keep our hens 
confined in these yards, as they lay much better than when 
allowed to range about. Our other coops are built after this 
general plan, some facing south, however. We never 
build coops facing north or west. 

*Reprinted from "Reports of Successful Poultry Growers." 




LAYING HOUSE ON MR. CLARK'S TWO-ACRE POULTRY FARM 

This two-acre poultry plant yields a comfortable living to the owner and his family, 
can be duplicated almost anywhere in this country. 



HELPFUL REPORTS FROM MONEY-MAKING FLOCKS 



25 



We use one 360- and one 240-egg incubator and dur- 
ing our 14 years of work in the chicken business we have 
yet to take off the first poor hatch on account of the 
machine. As an egg room and hatching room we have a 
cement cellar built about 2 feet under ground and 4 to 6 
feet above. This insures a uniform temperature and there 
is no possible chance to have the eggs get jarred. This 
care has much to do with successful hatching, we believe. 




TYPE OF LAYING HOUSE POPULAR IN NEW ENGLAND 

House here ilhistrated is on Mrs. Hoboll's poultry' plant — see article on 
this page. Gable roof and shingled walls add consider.'ibly to cost but make 
the house more comfortable, both winter and summer. 

We never feed our small chicks under 48 hours of 
age, and many times not before 60 hours. We take them 
directly from the incubator to the brooders, which are al- 
ready heated and have a covering of alfalfa leaves on the 
nursery floor, well mixed with chick feed. This feed, with 
plenty of good, clean water, is all they have until they are 
five weeks old, when we gradually change to coarser grains. 

We have hatched over 1,500 little chicks this past sum- 
mer and have not lost one from bowel trouble. We lost per- 
haps fifty of this number, most of which were drowned 
in the water dishes. The pullets were laying at four and 
a half months of age and the broilers matured at eight 
weeks, bringing from 40c to 20c per pound live weight 
in the local market. 

There is one more point we wish to emphasize and 
that is this: Do not make the mistake of starting vidth 
"common" hens (which are so common in every sense of 
the word) because they are cheap. Decide on the breed 
you desire to handle, of course keeping in view the end 
you wish to attain, whether layers, show birds, market 
stock, or whatever it is, then get the best possible birds 
and stick to them. 



How a Wife Helps Swell the Family Income 
Witli Poultry* 

Makes $500 to $600 Profit per Year From Flock of About 

One Hundred and Fifty Layers — Sells Day -Old 

Chicks, Eggs for Hatching, Half-Grown 

Pullets and "Soft Roasters" 

By A. F. HUNTER 

A N interesting and inspiring example of how a wife 
•^^*- can add do the family income when she so wishes and 
circumstances favor, is found in the experience of Mrs. 
Hobell, who lives near the western border of the old town 
of Hingham, Massachusetts. That Mrs. Hobell clears a 
profit of from five to six hundred dollars a year from her 
poultry work is no doubt partly due to a favorable location 

^Reprinted from June .1917, issue of Rehable Poultry Journal. 



(she lives just on the edge of the well-known South Shore 
soft roaster district south of Boston), but the bulk of the 
credit for her good success is undoubtedly due to her ef- 
ficient work. 

There are decided advantages in a good location. 
Prices for eggs from which future soft roasters are to be 
hatched are good, so that the sale of eggs to soft roaster 
growers helps the profits; and then, the steady demand 
for day-old chicks through the late fall, winter and spring 
months is another substantial help. But there must be 
eggs to sell and the newly hatched chicks to sell, else there 
is no profit; to have those eggs and chicks to sell means 
right planning of the poultry work, and then the careful 
carrying out of the plans. That is where the efficiency 
and interest in the work counts big. Unlike some poultry- 
women that we hear about, Mrs. Hobell does not carry 
on this work because there is need to fend against the pro- 
verbial wolf; the husband and father is a foreman in 
charge of one of the rooms in a large shoe factory in East 
Weymouth and there is a well-filled pay envelope brought 
home every week. 

About 150 White Plymouth Rocks usually are kept 
but there was considerably less than that number at the 
time of my visit, because of an invasion of rats into the 
brooder house at the time she was getting out chicks for 
her own raising. The houses for the layers (one of which 
is shown herewith) are about 10 by 24 feet in size, with 
double-pitch roofs; both roofs and walls are shingled, 
which makes them snug and warm in winter. About 50 
head of layers are kept in each of these houses and there 
is liberal yard space adjoining each house. 

One of the best feed-room buildings that I have ever 
seen, with an ample incubator room in the basement and 
an excellent workroom in the loft above, also is shown. 
The brooder house is annexed to this and the attendant 
steps directly into the brooder house from the feed room. 
The grain delivery team can drive right up to the door 
at the other end of the feed room, and all grain, etc., can 
be readily handled into the bins and barrels where it is 
stored until wanted. Various poultry conveniences are 
provided for use in the feed room. 

In the basement are five incubators, and here the 
2,500 to 3,000 chicks which Mrs. Hobell sells as day-olds 




HOUSES FOR GROWING STOCK ON MASSACHUSETTS 
POULTRY PLANT 

These houses are on the intensive poultry farm of Horace Randall and 
are used chiefly for brooding chicks. Photo from which this illustration was 
made was taken September 22, 



2e 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 



are hatched, and as these are sold at the uniform price of 
$15 per hundred, there is quite a substantial income from 
this part of the business. Hatching begins in Decembei- 
and continues through the winter and spring; practically 
all of the chicks Mrs. Hobell can spare are engaged be- 
forehand. Some chicks she k?eps to grow into soft roast- 
ers there on the place, and there is a good demand for 
half-grown pullets in late summer; most probably the 
chicks Mrs. Hobell grows into roasters are the cockerels 
hatched with these half-grown pullets. Here we see sev- 
eral outlets for products, and they all help to make 
the goodly net profit from the business. Day-old chicks, 
eggs for hatching, half-grown pullets, and soft roasters — 
these are the four chief lines of trade. 

The brooding equipment consisted of five portable 
brooders, which they find excellent for their purpose. One 
of the advantages of using portable brooders is that they 
can be moved out of doors after the chicks then in the 
house no longer need brooder heat, and a second charging 
of spring-hatched chicks can be brooded outside. This is 
not at all an expensive poultry plant, nor has large cap- 
ital been invested in equipment, and yet it serves ex- 
cellently well in producing a substantial income from the 
small tract of land used. In addition to the couple of 
acres occupied by the poultry, there is a fine vegetable 
and fruit garden. The substantial sum which Mrs. Hobell 
makes by her poultry work helps out decidedly with the 
family income, and she says: "and I enjoy the work." 



A Man Seeking Health Builds Profitable 
Poultry Business'^ 

Former Shoe Factory Employee Has a Nearly Perfect 

One-Man Poultry Plant— Makes $1,500 to $2,000 a 

Year Net Profit — Fruit Trees Help Income 

By A. F. HUNTER 

It/f" R. HORACE RANDALL, East Weymouth, Massa- 

-*■ chusetts, started to work in a shoe factory when 

he was a boy thirteen years of age, and he worked in the 

factory for thirty-three years. In that time he steadily 

*Reprinted from March, 1917, issue of Reliable Poultry Journal. 



advanced until he was the highest paid hand in the factory. 
When he reached that top notch his ambition "was over- 
stimulated to keep up to the high standard of efficiency 
which brought him the extra wages, the result of such ef- 
fort to keep on top being a breakdown in health. The doctor 
who pulled him through the severe sickness that followed 
told him to quit the factory and get out of doors. 

Mr. Randall was a bachelor at that time (he has since 
married) and was boarding at the old home with a sister, 
v;hose little garden patch was too small to give him out- 
of-doors occupation, and as his thoughts were tending 
towards soft-roaster growing to enable him to earn his 
living, he bought an acre of ground just in the rear of the 
home lot and began growing chickens for market. His 
first year's work showed a fair profit and it did much more 
than that because it built up his shattered health. Hav- 
ing become strongly attached to the poultry business, and 
fully convinced that it was a first-class business to go in- 
to, he began the systematic development of a regular 
poultry plant, buying some additional land, though his 
acreage still remains small. 

This poultry plant is a most interesting study, be- 
cause it is practically a one-man poultry plant. The build- 
ings, all small, are of what is generally known as the 
"colony" type and are scattered over the range. The 
largest building on the place stands in a yard by itself, 
off at one side, and is 12 by 25 feet in size, accommodat- 
ing 100 layers. The stock is chiefly kept in houses 8 by 
10 feet in size, which stand in rows, each house in a pen 
fifty feet square, and there are peach trees for shade all 
about. The growing pullets are housed in "A-shaped" 
colony houses, 10 by 10 feet in size. The pullets are 
placed in these houses as chicks and brooded with colony 
hovers — about 350 baby chicks being consigned to each. 

Mr. Randall has a 3,000-egg mammoth incubator, and 
hatches a good many chicks for his neighbors and custom- 
ers. He sold about 7,000 day-old chicks last spring, get- 
ting ?15 per hundred. He raised about 1,200 chicks him- 
self, growing the cockerels for soft roasters, and he told 
me those cockerels were sold at an average price of $1.77 
apiece. As it cost him 63 cents apiece to grow those 
cockerels to soft roaster size (five to seven pounds weight 




A PlJPULAR STVLK "F Put J.TRV HOU-^iE WELT, -\D.A1'TE!) TO THE JtEQUlREME-\T.S OF MARlvET EGG PRODUCERS 

Photo from which this illustration is marlo was taken in the Vineland, N. J. district, where intensive methods are most successfully practiced. Housi 
here illustrated is 15 by 100 feet, and liolds 500 White Leghorns. Note the hood over the front to protect opening. Many of the new houses built in thi 
section have wider hoods than the one here shown. 



HELPFUL REPORTS FROM MONEY-MAKING FLOCKS 



27 



apiece) there was manifestly a net profit of $1.14 on 
each one. As these chicks were January and February 
hatches and were sold at five to six months old there 
would seem to be a substantial profit in growing soft 
roasters. He winters about 400 head of layers, about 50 of 
them being- the best of the year-old hens, which are kept 
for breeders. 

There are about forty houses in all spread out over 
Mr. Randall's "farm," well-built and attractive looking 
houses, and the plant seemed to me one of the best laid 
out and best equipped that it has ever been my good for- 
tune to visit. In short, it seemed to me to be an ideal 
one-man poultry plant. Mr. Randall, however, does not 
do all the work himself; Mrs. Randall and the little daugh- 
ter are helpers. He keeps a careful account of all his re- 
ceipts and expenses, and can tell to a cent just how much 
he has made during each year he has been in the business. 
For example, he told me his profits for the year up to the 
evening before (September 21) were a trifle over $1,400. 
With the fowls yet to be sold and the egg income for the 
rest of the year, it is easy to see that his net income 
will be Sl,.500 to $2,000. 



county and each of these, to my satisfaction, wanted a 
bigger poultry industry and a more progressive county. 
I asked them to let each club member have a sitting of 
eggs on the "cooperative plan'' — that is, return two of 



Poultry Keeping As a Source of Profit for Boys and Girls 

Hundreds of earnest boys and girls not only in the 
counti-y but in town have found poultry keeping a source 
of profit. Poultry keeping is especially attractive to boys 
and girls because of their love for pets and the extremely 
limited investment required, also because it can be made 
profitable on any scale no matter how small, and because 
the work can so readily be adapted to school or work 
hours. As a result, thousands of earnest boys and girls, 
both an the farm and in town, have turned to poultry as 
a means of earning pocket money, of meeting living ex- 
penses, of paying their way through school, etc. 

The United States Government has taken a keen in- 
terest in promoting such activities and has been of great 
assistance to many beginners, not only by employing 
traveling representatives who organize and instruct Girls' 
and Boys' Poultry Clubs, but also, when necessary, by pro- 
viding financial assistance. As an illustration of what is 
being done to encourage and develop this branch of the 
work the following report of progress in a single county 
in Florida is presented. What Miss Dorsett has done in 
her county is being duplicated in a greater or lesser degree 
in hundreds of other localities in all sections of the coun- 
try, and without doubt such work is bound to have a 
tremendous influence upon the industry as a whole. 

Successful Poultry Clubs in Suwannee 
County, Florida 

Boys' and Girls' Poultry Clubs With a Membership of 387 

Organized in One County — Every Member Has 

Standard-bred Poultry and Every One 

Working Last Year Has An 

Account in the Bank 

By MISS ALICE M. DORSETT, 

County Home Demonstration Agent 

TC' OLLOWING the example set by some other agents 
in promoting poultry keeping among boys and girls 
I worked out a plan by which I could secure one sit- 
ting of eggs from standard-bred stock for each club mem- 
ber. There were breeders of several kinds of poultry in the 




MEMBER OI'' 



A BOY.S' POULTRY CLUB PREP.\RING HIS FOWLS 
FOR EXHIBITION 



the best pullets raised to pay for the eggs. They were 
glad to do this. The members chose the kind of chickens 
they liked best, requiring a careful study of the bulletins 
furnished them and "The Standard of Perfection" which 
I always took to club meetings. Needless to say quite a 
variety of breeds were represented in their selection, but 
no ornamental types. 

Three hundred and twenty-eight club members were 
ready for eggs by December 1. Before this date I asked 
each member to start one sitting of just plain eggs — the 
mongrel kind they had- — that they might have chickens to 
sell to help supply the demand. With many miles of 
hauling, accompanied by various accidents, misfortunes, 
broken boxes and broken eggs, each girl and boy was 
finally supplied by May 1. At each club meeting there 
were reports on work accomplished. Some were encour- 
aging, others were discouraging, such as: ".\ fox caught 
twelve of my fifteen chicks last night," and "I picked cot- 
ton and went on a summer camp and raised nine roosters." 

November 12, Contest Day, came at last and along 
with it came influenza. Only sixty exhibits came to the 
fair, but these were most creditable ones. I did not have 
to bring them in my Ford either, but all came nicely crated 
and prepaid. I was glad when the Fair Association in- 
sisted that the club members compete along with the Coun- 
ty Poultry Show. Judge Marshall announced that the 
best cockerel in the show was a White Leghorn belonging 
to a club girl 12 years old. In most every case club 
members won prizes over the breeders cooperating with 
them. I do not think the breeders were at all displeased 
at such keen competition. It was interesting to see the 
care with which these birds had been prepared for exhibit. 

I selected from these sixty exhibits the ten best pens 
for State Fair exhibit, and with these won championship 
over all counties in the state. Judge Nixon said we had 
the best Wyandotte cockerel in the whole poultry show. 
The South Florida Fair Association offered to pay trans- 
portation on exhibits if we would cooperate, but to my 
surprise, no club member exhibiting at the State Fair 
wanted his birds taken from the breeding pens. I got 
another ten pens together with which we again won the 
championship. The prize money, amounting in all to 



28 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 



$200, was divided among the club members and used for 
buying more hatching eggs. 

Every club member now has at least twenty-five 
standard-bred fowls, and in ten homes the entire flock 
has been changed from mongrels to standard bred. 
"One hundred hens to every farm" is the slogan for Su- 
wannee County. No club member stops hatching for sea- 
son, as chicks can be grown any month in the year in 
Florida. One girl, starting with twelve eggs, which 
hatched March 28, 1919, had 85 fine birds March 28, 1920, 
and besides selling several sittings of eggs she could have 
sold several hundred sittings to other club members had 
she been able to supply the demand, which she plans to do 
next year. We will have a poultry institute during the 




CHILDREN OFTEN ARE ENTHUSIASTIC POULTRY RAISER^ — 
GIVE THEM A CHANCE 

year which will last for five days, and each club member 
will attend. At this date (May 17, 1920) there are 387 
CLUB MEMBERS WITH STANDARD-BRED FOWLS 
AND EVERY ONE WORKING LAST YEAR HAS A 
SMALL BANK ACCOUNT. 



Two Boys Net S546 Witli Poultry 
and Pigeons 

Two Enterprising Poultry Club Members in North Carolina 

Net $296 With 60 Hens and $250 With 100 Pairs 

of Pigeons in Back Yard — Also Win 27 

First Prizes in Most Important 

State Shows 

By PAUL and ALEEN WAGNER 

EDITORIAL NOTE: Through the courtesy of A. G. 
Oliver, State Leader of Boys' and Girls' Poultry Clubs in 
North Carolina, we are able to present the following in- 
teresting report of two North Carolina poultry club mem- 
bers. Their profits and show vdnnings would be highly 
gratifying to many an adult breeder. 

TX ERE is what brother Paul and I did on our back 
-*- lot in 1919 with 60 hens divided equally into three 
varieties — 20 S. C. White Leghorns, 20 Barred Plymouth 
Rocks, 20 S. C. Rhode Island Reds. We mated pens 
of each and sold eggs for hatching to the amount of $125; 
also sold market eggs and chickens for $468.74; total 
$593.74. Feed and other expense for the year was $297.22, 
leaving us a net profit of $296.52. 

We won 27 first prizes in 1919 at the best shows in 
the state in both the open and club classes. At the Hickory 
Fair, Catawba County, N. C, we won special for best birds 



in the show. State Fair, Raleigh, N. C, we won a major 
part of the prizes in the club classes and 1st S. C. White 
Leghorn cockerel in the open class and these in red-hot 
competition. At the OflScial State Poultry Show, Golds- 
boro, N. C, we won most of the prizes offered in the club 
classes on Barred Plymouth Rocks and S. C. White Leg- 
horns. 

We wish to tell you also about our pigeon and squab 
business. We have about lOO pairs of Homing and White 
King pigeons. We use one end of our poultry house, which 
is 90 feet long, for one pen of pigeons, making a flying 
pen outside for them to sun and be out in, and we are 
using part of the barn loft for one pen. Pigeons are very 
profitable also when handled properly. They are not so 
much trouble as poultry. We ship squabs almost every 
week. They are dressed and packed in ice. In 1919 we 
sold 785 squabs, which was not a very good amount on 
account of losing some young ones in January and Feb- 
ruary. The amount received for these was $445.23; feed 
cost $194.96; amount of profit, $250.27. 

This gave us a profit of $546.79 which is pretty good, 
we think, as we only have a back lot and not more than 
three quarters of an acre on which is built a small barn 
and our henhouses. We expect to have some of the best 
birds we have yet raised this summer, and they will be 
heard from in the shows this fall. Other children can 
do as we did, if they have a good poultry house and some 
purebred poultry. 



Girls Make Poultry Records 

The United States Department of Agriculture sup- 
plies the following reports of success of Poultry Club 
members in the South: 

"Marie Bradfisch, who lives in St. Johns County, Flor- 
ida, has found poultry raising profitable. In 1919 the 
net returns from her birds were $739.75. This little Flor- 
ida girl two years ago joined one of the poultry clubs 
supervised by the United States Department of Agricul- 
ture and the State Agricultural College. She made a good 
profit the first year and won the state championship. She 
started her second year poultry work with 105 fowls, 
valued at $258. 

"During 1919 she sold 1,030 eggs and set 14 dozens. 
From the fowls raised she sold 49 for $89 and kept 209, 
valued at $525. The total income from her flock for the 
year was $1,330.75. When her expenses for feed and the 
value of the original flock were deducted, her profits for 
the year were $739.75. This excellent record won her the 
prize of $50 which had been offered by two members of 
the Board of Control of the State Institutions of Higher 
Learning to the girl who did the best work in a poultry 
club in Florida in 1919. 

"In Mississippi one of the successful young poultry 
club girls is Gregory Russell, who lives in Lawrence 
County, Mississippi. This is her first year in poultry club 
work. She bought all of the dry feed for her flock but 
raised a tenth-acre of oats and rape for their green feed. 
This 15-year-old girl's net return this year from her poultry 
work, which was supervised by the United States Depart- 
ment of Agriculture and the State College, was $256. 'v- 

"Vivian Smith of Yalabusha County, Mississippi, has 
been in poultry club work for four years. This year her 
net return from the work was $386.86. She started four 
years ago with seven chickens and made a net return that 
year of $70. The next year she doubled this amount and 
the third year she cleared $240 from her poultry." 



CHAPTER V 

How To Insure Success— What Not To Do 



Herewith Are Listed the More Common Mistakes That Beginners Are Liable to Make — Those Who Master the 

Details of a Definite Approved Method and Who Adhere Closely to It Until They Have Gained Some 

Practical Experience Will Be in Little Danger of Falling Into Serious Errors 




HOSE who have investigated the possibilities 
of small-plant production, and who perhaps 
have learned that many making the attempt 
have met with disappointment, will want to 
learn how they may, if possible, insure them- 
selves against a similar experience. As a matter of fact, 
anyone CAN so insure himself if he is in earnest — if he 
will take pains to be WELL INFORMED in the practical 
details of the work. Generally speaking, the beginner 
who learns a good practical method of poultry keeping 
and adheres rigidly to it until his own experience offers 
reasonably safe guidance, need not concern himself about 
the numerous ways in which he can make mistakes. Un- 
fortunately, the desire to experiment or to "express one's 
individuality" is extremely strong in many beginners and 
it is to experiments without sufficient practical knowledge 
back of them that so many serious mistakes are due — mis- 
takes that are the chief cause of most of the failures and 
disappointments that occur in connection with back-yard 
poultry keeping. Some of the more common errors that 
the beginner is liable to make are here briefly mentioned. 

WHAT TO AVOID IN MAKING THE START 

Don't Start Blindly 

Many who have decided to take up back-yard poultry 
keeping fail to appreciate the importance of securing 
necessary elementary information before making a start. 
Poultry keeping is simple but it is not so simple that it 
will not pay to get the advice of those who have had 
practical experience. Speaking generally, more money is 
wasted on "original" ideas in buildings and methods than 
would have been required in starting right. Those who 
have been in the business for years have very definite 
reasons for the suggestions they make or the advice they 
offer, and it is the part of wisdom to profit by their knowl- 
edge rather than to show one's independence by start- 
ing where they started and paying the same costly tui- 
tion in the school of experience. 

Don't Buy Fowls Blindly 

The different breeds have each their peculiar qualities 
and some of them are better suited to back-yard conditions 
than others. Don't buy stock blindly without knowing or 
caring what breed is represented. Proper care in select- 
ing fowls with reference to their breed and individual 
characteristics may make a great difference in the income 
received, also in the pleasure of caring for them. 

Don't Follow Untried Plans in Building 

Probably more mistakes are made in building back- 
yard poultry houses than in any other one thing. Many 
begfinners would rather adopt some idea that appears to 
be unique than to follow the commonplace outlines of the 
kind of house that the experienced poultry keeper regular- 
ly builds. Mistakes in design that will waste time and 
labor, mistakes in construction that will add greatly to 



the cost, mistakes in ventilation that will affect the health 
of the birds^ — these may all be avoided by adopting an ap- 
proved plan. Most of the poultry plants that have failed, 
both small and large, have freak poultry houses on them. 
It is true that some poultry plants that are successful al- 
so have freak houses, but in these cases their owners 
have succeeded in spite of their mistakes in building, not 
on account of them. 

' Don't Build Makeshift Houses 

The poultry keeper's attitude towards his flock is de- 
termined to a large extent by appearances. He gives 
good-looking fowls better attention than scrubs. He takes 
better care of a neat, attractive house than one that is 
built without regard for appearance. That is one reason 
why the poultry keeper with a plant that is neat and at- 
tractive almost invariably gets better results than one 
whose buildings are an eyesore. If you cannot afford to 
build attractively and with new lumber, make the best 
of what you have, but remember that reasonable expense 
incurred in making house and surroundings neat and 
pleasing in appearance is money well spent. 

Don't Keep Inferior Stock 

Even though you may have only a small flock and 
are interested only in the production of eggs for table use 
you will find that you can well afford to keep standard- 
bred fowls — cannot, as a matter of fact, afford to keep 
anything else. Such birds look better, lay better, weigh 
more, and in every practical detail are more desirable 
than birds of mixed or mongrel breeding. It is not 
necessary to buy exhibition stock unless you want to breed 
such, but at least get standard-bred fowls so that the 
birds will be uniform not only in color and size but in 
other characteristics as well. 

Don't Keep Too Many Breeds 

It is rarely advisable for the beginner to have more 
than one breed, particularly where he has only a limited 
amount of room. If the different breeds are allowed to 
run together they seldom do well, and to maintain two or 
more separate pens in close quarters adds to the cost of 
the buildings, increases greatly the amount of labor re- 
quired in looking after the birds, and is of no practical 
advantage. It generally is much better to select the breed 
that will best meet your conditions and that you like best, 
and then concentrate your attention entirely upon it. 

Don't Expect the Impossible 

Wonderful results sometimes are secured even by the 
inexperienced, but it should be borne in mind that these 
extraordinary results are the exception and not the rule. 
Be reasonable in your expectations and your demands on 
the fowls, and be satisfied with fair returns upon your 
investment of time and money. With increasing expe- 
rience and skill you will be able to get better and better 

29 



30 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 



results, but the greatest success comes to those only who 
have qualified themselves by years of practical experience. 

DON'TS IN GENERAL MANAGEMENT 
Don't Frighten and Abuse the Birds 

Fowls respond quickly to good treatment and they 
enjoy being treated as pets. Hens that are contented and 
happy are always more productive than those that are 
nervous and timid, constantly suspicious of their care- 
taker and ready to fly to the farther end of the yard when- 
ever he appears on the scene. A little time spent in get- 
ting acquainted with the birds and in securing their con- 
fidence will be repaid several times over in the better pro- 
duction that will be realized from them. Incidentally, the 
caretaker will learn a great many interesting facts in re- 
gard to his fowls and their habits. 

Don't Be Impatient for Returns 

A great many back-yard poultry keepers are un- 
reasonably impatient with their new flocks. After hav- 
ing secured the fowls and put them on regular rations 
they expect almost instant production. This is unreason- 
able. There are good physiological reasons why fowls 
must have some time in which to become accustomed to 
their surroundings and to get acquainted with their care- 
taker before they can be expected to become productive. 
Feed the birds well and give them the necessary time in 
which to show what they can do. 

Don't Overlook Everyday Details 

The poultry keeper who keeps his hens under obser- 
vation from day to day, noting their conduct, observing 
the condition of the droppings on the platform, etc., will 
find that he will get much better results and have fewer 
losses. Where no special notice is taken of the birds, 
diseases sometimes become deep seated before the symp- 
toms are noted. The proverb, "the eye of the master 
fatteneth his cattle" applies with equal force in the care 
of fowls. Oftentimes extraordinary variations in returns 
are reported by individual poultry keepers where the 
only noticeable difl'erence in management is the closer at- 
tention given to everyday details. 

Don't Neglect Disinfection 

With fowls in close quarters the danger from infec- 
tious diseases is greatly increased, also the danger of 
soil contamination. It is highly important under such 
conditions to use disinfectants freely. Don't wait for the 
fowls to get sick before doing this but treat disinfection 
as insurance and keep the premium paid up. In other 
words, use disinfectants freely and often abovt the poultry 
house, and yards too, if small. 

Don't Neglect Culling 

No one who has a flock of layers can afford to neg- 
lect culling. Whenever the egg yield drops below 50 per 
cent you can count upon it that there are some hens 
in the flock that are not laying and that are a source of 
unnecessary expense. If you familiarize yourself with 
culling methods you will have no difliculty in identifying 
these birds. 

Don't Overlook the .Advantages of Artificial Light 

The use of artificial light for the laying flock is no 
longer an experiment but a practical measure of proved 
value in securing maximum egg production during the 
high-price months. Even if you can do no more than hang 



up a lantern in the house you will find that it will pay 
you well to do this. Artificial light will not only bring 
your pullets into laying earlier in the fall and enable you 
to get profitable production even from late-hatched pul- 
lets, but if properly handled will give you a larger total 
yield for the year. 

Don't Overstock 

The back-yard poultry keeper is under constant temp- 
tation to keep more fowls than he has room properly to 
accommodate. This increases his feed bill and, as a rule, 
results in lower production from the large flock than 
would be secured from the smaller number that could be 
properly accommodated. Fowls of the larger breeds 
should have four or five square feet of floor space per 
hen and Leghorns not less than three and one-half feet, 
and it is simply a waste of feed to keep larger numbers 
than can be given this amount of room. 

Don't Try to Expand Too Fast 

After success with a small flock has encouraged you 
to plan for larger things don't make the mistake of ex- 
panding more rapidly than your experience and your 
finances will warrant. With small flocks, or in side-line 
poultry keeping, it is a good plan to make the fowls pay 
for all additions to the plant. If that rule is adopted the 
beginner will find his plant growing no faster than he is 
able to take care of it and to protect his investment. 

Don't Let Fowls Become a Neighborhood Nuisance 

Make up your mind at the start that your fowls will 
be kept on your own premises, not only part of the time 
but all of the time. Lack of respect for the rights of 
neighbors is directly responsible for many of the unrea- 
sonable restrictive ordinances in regard to keeping fowls 
in town. Keep no males in the laying flock, confine all 
fowls to your own premises, keep the houses and yards 
clean and sweet smelling and there will be few objections 
from the neighbors. 

Don't Practice False Economies 

There are various ways in which the beginner is apt 
to practice false economies. Feeding defective rations be- 
cause some needed element is high priced or hard to se- 
cure, restricting the amount of feed the foTvls get to re- 
duce expenses, using too much sloppy kitchen waste be- 
cause it does not cost anything, omitting all glass from 
the laying house in cold climates, buying cheap building- 
materials that will answer the purpose for only a short 
time, buying cheap stock where good fowls could be secured 
at only comparatively slight advance in price — these and 
many other means of "saving" are false economies that 
will in the long run cost the poultry keeper a great deal 
more than the adoption of a more liberal policy. 

Don't Be Irregular in Care of Fowls 

Fowls quickly become accustomed to a definite schedule 
of feeding and care and will do better when the .schedule 
is regularly adhered to. Irregular methods, such as feed- 
ing three or four times one day and only once at another 
time, letting the fowls out early in the morning or late 
in the day as happens to be convenient, sudden or extreme 
changes in the ration, all have an unfavorable effect upon 
the production of the fowls, and also upon their health. 
It is better to adopt a plan that can be adhered to vdth 
reasonable uniformity day after day, even though it might 
not appear to be as good as some other which, because 
more exacting, is apt to be neglected. 



HOW TO INSURE SUCCESS— WHAT NOT TO DO 



31 



Don't Neglect Lice and Mites 

The poultry keeper who makes liberal use of disin- 
fectants or lice-killing preparations will have little trou- 
ble with parasites, but a little neglect along this line in 
warm weather may result in the house becoming infested 
with mites. After they are established it is extremely 
difficult to get rid of them. Don't wait for the mites to 
appear but paint or spray the perches, perch supports, 
nest boxes, etc., once a month in warm weather, unless 
you use one of the commercial preparations that retain 
their effectiveness for months. 

DON'TS IN FEEDING 
Don't Feed Unbalanced Rations 

Just because you have only a few- fowls is no reason 
for thinking you need not give any especial attention to 
feeding a balanced ration. This is an essential in the 
proper nourishment of fowls no matter in what numbers 
they may be kept. If you are not familiar with the sub- 
ject use some standard brand of commercial poultry feed 
— by far the simplest way of providing a balanced ration. 
Correct feeding means increased production and lower 
cost. An unbalanced ration often costs more than a 
higher priced one that is well balanced, simply because 
more of the former is required properly to nourish the 
fowls, and more of it is wasted. 

Don't Depend Too Largely Upon Kifcl-.en Waste 

Waste from the kitchen is good feed but it is nearly 
all soft and fowls that are fed exclusively upon it will 
develop indigestion sooner or later. They should have 
at least one full feed a day of hard grain. It is better 
to throw away some of the kitchen waste, if necessary, 
rather than to risk the health of the birds by feeding it 
too freely. 

Don't Feed Too Much Moist Mash 

A great many poultry keepers who have found that 
the feeding of moist mash means better egg production 
seem to think that if a little is good a good deal is better 
and feed entirely too much of this part of the ration, re- 
sulting in digestive disorders. One feed of moist mash 
daily may safely be given but rarely more. 
Don't Overfeed or Underfeed 

It is not a difficult matter to determine whether the 
fowls are being properly fed, and there really is no ex- 
cuse for anybody overfeeding or underfeeding. Overfeed- 
ing, is wasteful and makes the fowls overfat and imperils 
their health. Underfeeding means certain decreased egg 
production. Learn to know when your fowls are being 
properly fed. 

Don't Neglect Exercise 

Fowls are naturally highly active in their habits and 
when in confinement on heavy rations will not do well 
unless attention is given to providing compulsory exer- 
cise. Use plenty of litter so that birds will have to 
scratch for the grain part of the ration, give the soft feed 
either at noon or in the evening, and when the fowls are 
running out spade up a section of their yard to encourage 
them to dig in the moist earth — in fact, do anything prac- 
tical that will help to keep them on the move. 

Don't Feed Musty or Sour Feeds of Any Description 

If the waste from the kitchen is sour it should be 
burned or put in the garbage can. Sour feed will quickly 
cause sickness among the birds. Musty grain is equally 
injurious. Give the birds nothing but sweet, wholesome 



feed and the problem of keeping them in good health will 
be greatly simplified. 

SPECIAL DON'TS FOR CHICK RAISERS 

Don't Buy Cheap Chicks 

If you are starting with day-old chicks, don't buy 
low-priced stork. The cheap chicks that are sold by the 
.5c and 10c stores and elsewhere are mostly of inferior 
breeding and it is not reasonable to expect good results 
from them. Be willing to pay a fair price and buy from 
responsible dealers who will give you the worth of your 
money and will take an interest in your success. 

Don't Let Young Stock Crowd in Coops and Brooders 

Coops that were plenty large enough for the chicks 
when first hatched will become overcrowded as the chicks 
grow, and heavy losses are experienced each year by per- 
sons who fail to take this into account and to provide 
larger, more roomy, better ventilated quarters for the 
growing stock. When the chicks pile up on the outside 
of the brood coop, or when the brooder is clearly seen at 
night to be overfull, relief must be provided in some way. 
A few nights in overcrowded quarters may give the chicks 
a backset from which they will never recover. 

Don't Neglect Shade 

Chicks that do not have plenty of shade rarely make 
good growth during hot weather. They like bushes and 
tall-growing weeds, but if these are lacking, provide shade 
by using strips of burlap or in any other way that is 
practicable. This protection cannot be neglected without 
serious consequences. 

Don't Let Chicks and Adult Stock Run Together 

Young chicks that have to take their chances in the 
general flock usually are mistreated and underfed and 
never grow as well as they should. Either do not try to 
raise chicks at all or provide separate quarters for them 
so that they will have a chance to grow and thrive nor- 
mally. The same thing applies where chicks of diff'erent 
sizes are kept together. That also is unwise as it handi- 
caps the smaller birds seriously. Often it is better not 
to raise more than one brood, even thoug'h that may ap- 
pear to be insufficient for your needs, rather than to raise 
together two lots noticeably dissimilar in size. 

Don't Fail to Put Eggs Down in Spring 

If you have a surplus of eggs after April 1 you can- 
not afford to sell them until you have put down as many 
as you will need in fall and early winter before the new 
flock will come into laying. Eggs can be preserved at 
little cost and should remain in good condition for months. 

Don't Fail to Keep a Record 

It is easy to give snap judgment as to the profit, or 
lack of it, realized from the back-yard flock, but no one 
who has not kept a careful record really knows just what 
returns it is making for its feed and care. Keep an exact 
account of expense, of eggs laid, and fowls eaten or sold, 
and don't guess. 



The foregoing is a rather formidable list of "don'ts" 
and some perhaps may feel rather discouraged in reading 
them. The fact should be emphasized, however, that it 
is not necessary for anyone to encounter the various 
stumbling blocks that are here pointed out or make the 
numerous mistakes mentioned. Learn the right way and 
stick to it, and let someone else try the various things 
that should NOT be done. 



C H A P T E R V I 
How to Hatch and Rear Chicks Successfully 

Helpful Suggestions That Should Insure to the Beginner Complete Success in Hatching and Rearing His Chicks, 

Whether He Plans to Raise Only a Few or Several Hundred — Complete Daily Schedules Are Given for 

Brooding and Feeding From the First Day to Maturity, Which Greatly Simplify the Work 





NEST FOR SITTING HEN 

Neats for sitting hens should be 12 to 15 in- 
ches square and at least 12 inches high. In warm 
weather mor^ ventilation will be required thim i;, 
here provided when door is closed- 



ANY persons make their start in poultry keep- 
ing during the spring months, doing so with a 
single sitting of eggs or an incubatorful, or 
possibly with a good-sized brood of baby chicks. 
In either case, their future interest in poultry 
keeping is apt to be determined by their success during 
the first few weeks. Almost everyone likes to raise 
chicks when they all live and do well, but many promptly 
get discouraged when their broods grow sickly and die off. 
A good deal can be done to insure initial success by see- 
ing to it that the 
chicks are strong 
and healthy to 
start with. The 
beginner cannot 
be cautioned too 
earnestly to buy 
from a competent 
and reliable poul- 
try breeder in or- 
der to be sure 
that the chicks 
or eggs for hatch- 
ing will come 
from strong, vig- 
orous and proper- 
ly handled breed- 
ing stock. Or if 
he is raising chicks from his own breeders no reasonable 
measures should be neglected that will assist in keeping 
the fowls in first-class breeding condition (see Chap- 
ter XIV). 

Whether or not it is practical for any given person 
to raise chicks in his back yard depends chiefly upon the 
interest he takes in the work and the amount of room he 
has available. Without doubt, if the chicks can be given 
proper feed and protection, it is true economy to raise a 
flock each season. The cost of raising a good-sized brood 
should be half or less than half of what their cost would 
be if purchased in the open market when grown. It al- 
so is practically the only way in which many back-yard 
poultry keepers are able to obtain a supply of early pullets 
for fall and winter egg production. 

Management of Sitting Hens 

While, as has just been indicated, the natural method 
of hatching chicks has definite limitations and has now 
been largely abandoned even by many who raise only 
small numbers, there still are some who, for one reason 
or another, wish to hatch a few chicks in this way. Where 
this method is to be followed there are several things 
that can be done to insure good results and to avoid the 
numerous difficulties .usually associated with hen hatching. 

Nests for sitting hens .should be located in a separate 
compartment so that the hens will be free from interfer- 
ence from the rest of the flock. It is scarcely worth 



while to attempt to incubate eggs with hens unless such 
conditions can be provided. The sitting hen requires com- 
paratively little room for exercise, and quite a large num- 
ber can be accommodated in a small compartment. The 
nests should be of fairly good size, and an orthodox meth- 
od of preparing them is to put a good heavy sod or two 
or three inches of loam in the bottom, with a liberal al- 
lowance of not too coarse straw on top. The provision of 
sod or earth probably is not at all essential to best hatches 
under ordinary conditions, but at least it will do no harm. 

Broody hens should be allowed to remain on the regu- 
lar nests for a day or two, until certain that they are de- 
termined to sit, when they may be removed to the regu- 
lar hatching nests previously prepared. If they are moved 
at night and quietly handled they usually will settle down 
to their duties in the new nests without much trouble, 
provided they cannot see or get back to their old quarters. 
The hens should be confined to the new nests until the 
next evening, when they should be allowed to come off for 
feed and exercise. Take them off if they do not leave of 
their own accord. This should be done a little before 
dark and the hens will return to the nests as soon as they 
have eaten. If not. they should be put back and again 
confined until the morning of the second day after. Any 
that do not voluntarily return to the nest when let off 
this time are apt to be unreliable and had better be placed 
in a broody coop and broken up and returned to the lay- 
ing flock. Hens that refuse to occupy the new nests can 
often be persuaded to do so by giving them sufficient at- 
tention, but usually it pays better to let them go. 

When the hens are placed on the nests they should 
have two or three nest eggs. After they have settled 
down to their duties these are removed and a sitting of 
suitable size given them. Avoid the common tendency 
to place too many eggs in the nest. Hens cannot keep a 
large number of eggs warm in cold weather, and the 




CONVENIENT COOP FOR HEN AND CHICKS 

Coop should be 2 by 2k feet for ordinary use. Front is covered with 
close-mt>sh galvanized wire cloth or netting. Photo from Md. Exp. Station. 



HOW TO HATCH AND REAR CHICKS SUCCESSFULLY 



33 



whole hatch may be lost if the hens are given more eggs 
than they can cover properly. Even a good-sized hen 
should not have more than ten eggs at that season, and 
it is doubtful vi'hether it ever pays to give them more than 
fifteen. Before setting the hen give her a thorough dust- 
ing with some good lice-killing powder or insecticide! 

Where hens are to be used for hatching there rarely 
are any broody until the season is well advanced. Hence, 
depending upon natural means of incubation results in 
late hatches and, consequently, late-maturing pullets in 
the fall. To have broilers early in the season when they 
are highest in price and most desired, to get chicks out 
early so as that they will be well grown before the hot 
summer months come on, to get early pullets, to have the 
chicks of uniform age, or to bring off successive hatches 
so as to utilize space and equipment to best advantage — 
if any of these is the object, incuba- 
tors must be used. Practically all 
incubator manufacturers make small- 
sized machines especially designed 
for the use of the back-yard poultry 
keeper. They are not expensive to 
purchase or to operate, it is an easy 
matter to learn to use them, and with 
proper care good hatches are assured. 

Incubator Management 

The principles of successful incu- 
bator management are the same, in 
a general way, regardless of the kind 
of machine used, or where it is oper- 
ated. However, different types of in- 
cubators and different methods adopt- 
ed by manufacturers in equipping 
them with thermometers, moisture 
devices, etc., make it necessary to 
have special instructions from the 
manufacturer of the particular ma- 
chine used, and these should be the 
operator's final guide, as far as they 
go. The manufacturer certainly 
knows better than anyone else what 

methods are likely to give best results with his machine. 
If the first hatch or two should not prove to be entirely 
satisfactory when following these directions as closely as 
possible, communicate directly with the manufacturer, de- 
scribing conditions under which the incubator is being 
operated and giving accurate information in regard to the 
hatch and the respects in which it has proved disappoint- 
ing. The manufacturer then should be able to give such 
additional information as vrill be necessary in order to in- 
sure success. 

The operation of incubators of reliable make is by 
no means a difficult matter. It is only where adjustment 
is imperfect or when the operator persists in trying to 
make the machine hatch under unreasonably adverse con- 
ditions that he experiences serious trouble. Modern ma- 
chines are so well constructed, so nearly automatic, and 
afford so favorable conditions for embryonic development 
that they require only slight care and attention on the 
part of the operator, if they are properly located and 
correctly adjusted at the start. 

What Eggs to Use for Hatching 

The length of time that eggs can be held depends 
quite largely upon the season of the year and the vitality 



of the breeding stock. The safe rule is to set them as 
soon as possible, and never to hold them over two weeks 
if it can be avoided. Good hatches sometimes are secured 
with eggs held for a longer time, but they are exception- 
al, and the vitality of the chicks is liable to be seriously 
affected, even though the hatch may be satisfactory so 
far as percentage is concerned. 

Few beginners give sufficient attention to sorting and 
selecting the eggs that they place in the incubator. None 
that show noticeable defects of any kind should be used 
even though some of them might hatch. Double-yolked 
eggs, abnormally large ones, those with peculiar shells, 
etc., should be discarded, also those that are quite small. 
Small eggs mean small chicks every time, and usually 
there is a high percentage of loss among them. It is a 
good deal better to operate the machine only partially 




COOP AND RUNS FOR SITTIXG HEN'S OR BROODS OF CHICKS 

Whpre several sitting hens or broods of chicks wre to be provided for, this compartment coop will be 
found convenient. Partitions are movable frames covered with canvas or burlap. Coop ia 5 feet long, 
3 feet wide, 3 feet high in front and 2 feet in rear. I'hoto from Oregon Exp. Station. 



filled, if necessary, rather than to use eggs of which only 
a small percentage can reasonably be expected to hatch, 
and which at best will produce weakly chicks. However, 
it should be borne in mind that directions for operation 
usually are based on full trays, and when the machine is 
only partially filled it may be necessary to reduce ven- 
tilation accordingly and sometimes to maintain a slightly 
higher temperature. Frequently, also, more attention 
must be given to moisture. 

Location of Incubator 

For the average operator the best available location 
is a well-ventilated cellar. Usually the temperature in 
such a place is fairly uniform, and there is a higher and 
more uniform degree of humidity, which simplifies the 
moisture question. In cold weather cellars are warm, or 
can be made so without much expense, and in warm vi^eath- 
er are much cooler than rooms entirely above ground. 
Another reason which sometimes favors the cellar as a 
location for the incubator is the fact that machines there 
are less liable to be interfered with. Do not attempt to 
operate more than two or three lamp-heated machines in 
an ordinary cellar, however, unless special provision is 
made for ventilation. 



34 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 



Where the incubator must be run in an above-ground 
room, every effort should be made to keep the tempera- 
ture uniform, and thus avoid making unreasonable de- 
mands upon the incubator regulator. If possible, select 
a room facing north rather than in another direction. If 
the sun's rays can enter at any time during the day 
(which invariably will cause a rapid rise in temperature) 
the windows should be provided with blinds or wooden 
shutters so that this cannot occur. It is a great deal 
easier to make necessary changes in the lighting or heat- 
ing of the room so as to maintain a fairly uniform temper- 
ature than it is to secure an adjustment of the incubator 
regulator that will take care of wide extremes. The air 
in above-ground rooms, especially if heated by furnaces, 
hot-water radiators, etc., is much drier than in cellars, 
and this condition must be remedied by supplying mois- 
ture in whatever way is most convenient. 

Incubator Temperature 

Theoretically there is only one correct temperature 
at which to incubate eggs, but in practical incubator opera- 
tion the style of the machine, kind of thermometer, season 
of year, stage of hatch, etc., all have a bearing upon the 
exact degree to be maintained. Let the manufacturer's 
directions in regard to temperature be the positive guide. 
Use the style of thermometer that he recommends and 
keep it in the particular location on the tray that he pre- 
scribes. Outside instructions on this subject almost in- 
variably confuse the beginner. 

Moisture and Ventilation 

These two factors in artificial incubation are the man- 
ufacturer's own problems, and his instructions should be 
followed exactly. Different makes of incubators vary 
widely in .their methods of supplying heat and in the cir- 
culation of air in the egg chamber, and practices that give 
excellent hatches in one machine may prove most disap- 
pointing when applied to one of another type. In study- 
ing directions for adjusting ventilation or supplying mois- 
ture, however, bear in mind that these are intended to 
meet a general average as to location, and those whose 
conditions vary widely from such will have to adapt 
the instructions to their peculiar requirements. If they 
find difficulty in doing this or if results are not up to ex- 
pectations then the manufacturer .-should be consulted. 



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Turn Eggs Twice a Day 

Eggs should be turned regularly twice a day from 
the morning of the third day until the chicks begin to pip, 
or until they can be heard in^, the shell. There is no doubt 
that eggs are turned much more frequently than this in 
natural incubation and many incubator operators believe 




POPULiR TYPE OF LAMP-HE.VFED OUTDOOR BROODER 



HOMEMADE OUTDOOR BROODER WITH LA.MP-HEATED HOVER 

This photo was taken on ft back-yard pl.int. and shows a good-^-'ized homc- 
n;ade brooder ca'^p equipped witii a lamp-lieated hover. 

that it pays to turn four or more times daily. Directions 
sometimes are given to discontinue turning on the eight- 
eenth day. If the hatch is coming off in good time this 
is correct, but if delayed, as is quite often the case, to dis- 
continue turning on the eighteenth day may mean an ap- 
preciable reduction in the number of chicks secured. It 
is much better to continue turning until the chicks begin 
to pip, regardless of when that may be. 

Advantage of Testing Eggs 

The operator's only reliable means of keeping' in 
touch with the development of the embryo and learning 
whether it is progressing normally or not is by repeatedly 
testing the eggs throughout the hatch. The beginner es- 
pecially should make a complete test at regular intervals 
of five or six days, and should test a few eggs every now 
and then between times, in order that he may be- 
come thoroughly familiar with the appearance of the em- 
bryo at all stages of growth. By testing he is able to 
follow the development of the air cell, and can tell at a 
g'lance whether the eggs are drying down at the proper 
rate. He also learns to recognize normal embiyonic de- 
velopment and thus determines whether the correct tem- 
perature is being supplied. 

Why Eggs Should Be Cooled 

The cooling of eggs during incubation is a debated 
point and its particular influence on the embryo, if it has 
any, is not fully understood. There are some indirect ad- 
vantages, however, and most operators practice it to some 
extent, especially in warm weather. The usually accepted 
rule for cooling is to lower the temperature of the egg to 
a neutral point — that is, where it will feel neither warm 
nor cold to the touch. The time required to do this varies 
widely with the outside, temperature. Where the incu- 
bator is operated in a cold room it is doubtful whether 
cooling is of any practical value unless it is found desir- 
able to do it in order to check too rapid development of 
the embryo. The average operator cools entirely too much 
in cold weather, which is one of the most common causes 
of delayed hatches. 

What To Do When Hatching Begins 

Under normal conditions the hatch will need no at- 
tention and no assistance aside from seeing to it that the- 



HOW TO HATCH AND REAR CHICKS SUCCESSFULLY 



35 



temperature is kept as it should be. If the hatch is a 
little slow in coming off, or if the chicks are being re- 
moved from time to time during the hatch in order to 
leave more room for the later arrivals, the tempei-ature 
on the egg tray will almost certainly drop when most of 
the chicks are out. That is one of the chief reasons why 
there are so many complaints of chicks sticking in the 
shell. During the latter part of the hatch it is desirable 
to give special attention to the temperature, changing 
the regulator if necessary to keep it up to lO.S degrees. 

It sometimes is desirable to give the last chicks a lit- 
tle assistance. While those that are not able to get out 
of the shell without help usually are not worth helping, 
this is not always the case. Where the chicks cannot get 
out on account of the drying and consequent hardening of 
the membrane, all that is necessary, frequently, is tn 
wring a flannel cloth out of hot water and spread it over 
the eggs. This should be left in place until the membrane 
is softened (10 to 20 minutes), when it should be removed. 
Repeat this operation a little later if it seems necessary. 
Any chick that is strong enough to live will be strong- 
enough to get out with this assistance. 

Taking the Chicks Off 

When the chick is first hatched it is an extremely deli- 
cate organism, not entirely developed. Partly for this 
reason, also because the thin coat of down with which it 
is covered is only a partial protection at best, it is in no 
way able to stand low temperatures or sudden changes. 
The best possible treatment for newly hatched chicks, 
therefore, is to leave them in the incubator for a day so 
that they may be somewhat hardened and their develop- 
ment completed. Chicks need much more air than they 
required as embryos, and when the hatch is over about 
all the air that the machine is capable of admitting should 
be supplied. Under some conditions, where the hatch is 



unusually good so that the first-hatched chicks are being 
inconvenienced by close confinement, the oldest may be re- 
moved from the machine and kept in a warm box or 
basket. By the time the chicks are 24 hours old, however, 
they should all be in a good, warm brooder, ready for a 
drink of water or milk and by the end of the second day, 
their first feed. 

Need for Brooding Equipment 

Great numbers of chicks fall victims every year to 
failure to provide for their comfort and warmth. This 
failure may take the form of having no brooders at all; 
or, when brooders are provided, there may be too few of 
them for the number of chicks to be brooded, or they may 
be of inferior design, flimsy, unsafe, and generally unre- 
liable. In either case, the final result is about the same; 
the percentage of loss is excessive and sometimes ruinous, 
and even when the chicks manage to survive they often 
are weakly and stunted, never develop properly, and are 
incapable of givmg satisfactory results either in the lay- 
ing flock or the breeding pen. 

The need for artificially heated brooders is all the 
more imperative because of the general tendency toward 
early hatching, which results in the chicks being brought 
into the world at a time when winter is not entirely over, 
and when severe cold and long spells of stormy weather 
are still to be expected. The light coat of down with which 
the baby chick is covered affords some protection, but by 
no means enough to keep it warm at low temperatures. 
Just a few minutes too long away from a source of heat 
may cause serious trouble. 

Epidemics of so-called "white dian-hea" often are 
directly due to improper brooding temperatures or to 
overcrowding. Brooder pneumonia usually is traceable to 
one or the other of the same causes, as also are lack of 
thrift, stunted growth, slow development, failure to feath- 




TWO '■ST.4ND,\RD" TYPE COLONY HOVERS INSTALLED IN L.«"ING HOUSE 

This type of hovr will brood several hundred chick? in one flock, .'^tove Is heated with coal and equipped with thermostat which regulates ter.~.pcr- 
ature by controlling the draft. In many cases it is practical to brood the chick.s in empty laying houses where the pullets are to remain when full grown. 
Coal- and oil-burning colony hovers are well adapted to such use. 



36 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 



er out properly, and many losses during the first two 
months that are not accompanied by any special symp- 
toms except lack of vitality. It is scarcely possible to 
overemphasize the fact that most of the ills to which 
chicks are subject develop into serious epidemics only 
through neglect or mistreatment which lowers the chick's 




CONVENIENT TYPE OF FIRELF.SS BROODER 

Note the iriuslin-covcred frame which arts as a hover, and the ventilation 
holes in the top. Bottom of box is filled with litter so aa to bring the chicks' 
backs up against the hover. Photo from Maryland Exp. Station. 

natural vitality and resistance to disease, and it is safe 
to say that every chick raiser who fails to provide suit- 
able brooding equipment or enough of it, loses each year 
more than it would cost to do so. 

Types of Brooder Available 

Inadequate brooding facilities are only a little less 
prolific cause of disease and loss than having no brooders 
at all. Chicks crowding and trampling each other under 
foot, brooding different ages under the same hover, neces- 
sity for taking heat away from the chicks before they are 
old enough — all these are common disadvantages accom- 
panying a lack of brooder space, and everyone of them 
takes heavy toll in the flock. The better types of brood- 
ers now on the market are highly developed, well made, 
durable and moderate in cost, and they are absolutely 
indispensable on well-managed poultry plants. In heat- 
ing capacity, in economical use of fuel, and in accuracy 
of temperature regulation, they are marvels of efficiency. 
The chick raiser is entitled to scant sympathy in his losses 
if he deliberately neglects to avail himself of the help 
that may be his at so reasonable cost. 

Poultry keepers now have a wide variety of brooding 
equipment available for their use, and merits of the dif- 
ferent types of brooders should be carefully weighed in 
deciding which to adopt. Select the kind that is best 
adapted to the size of the flocks that are to be raised and 
to the conditions under which they will be operated. 

Raising Chicks in Fireless Brooders 

The practical poultry keeper has comparatively little 
interest in fireless brooders because their use involves 
much extra labor, and chicks do not do so well in them as 
in artificially heated brooders, unless carefully looked af- 
ter. The small-scale poultry keeper, however, who has only 
a small flock — 20 to 50 chicks — who is afraid of heated 



brooders, or who desires to brood chicks at minimum cost 
for equipment, finds that he can use fireless brooders to 
good advantage. 

This type of brooder is designed to conserve the bodily 
heat of the chicks. It consists generally of a low, round or 
square box with an adjustable hover top which is placed so 
that the chicks can get their backs up against it — see illus- 
tration on this page. The hover top may consist of a piece 
of burlap or cheese cloth, either of which, being of open 
texture, will afford some ventilation. If necessary, this 
hover may be covered with cotton batting or planer shav- 
ings or any similar material that vrill conserve heat and 
still will not be air-tight. The thickness of the covering 
is adjusted to weather conditions. The dimensions of the 
brooder must be adapted to the size of the flock. A large 
hover for a small flock means a waste of heat and dis- 
comfort for the chicks; too small a hover will cause over- 
crowding and, as a rule, the ventilation will be inadequate. 
A suitable size for a flock of 20 chicks is 12 by 12 inches, 
adding about 8 square inches for each additional chick. 

The general management of chicks in fireless brooders 
is about the same as in lamp-heated brooders except that 
much more attention must be given to training them 
to use the hover. There is nothing about the cold, dark 
hover space of a fireless brooder to attract chicks, as in 
the case of one artificially heated, and they must be care- 
fully watched and trained until they have thoroughly 
learned that they can get warm by getting their backs up 
against the hover. Usually they need more or less atten- 
tion throughout the entire brooding period, and it is chiefly 
due to carelessness in this respect that so many persons 
have poor results with brooders of this type. 

Because of lack of artificial heat, the hover compart- 
ment in the fireless brooder is more or less damp, and the 
interior should be thoroughly aired and dried out once a 
day. If the brooder can be placed in the sunlight that 
is the best method, but if that is impossible then the hover 
should be dried out before a stove daily, and fresh, dry 
litter placed in the brooder as often as conditions require it. 

Lamp-Heated Brooders 

Lamp-heated brooders are made in different styles and 
sizes, and are ideal for brooding small flocks. They are 
low in first cost, are easily operated, fuel is readily ob- 
tainable everywhere, and they are adaptable over a vnde 
range of conditions as to locations and climate. Persons 
who do not have available houseroom can secure complete 
lamp-heated brooders that can be operated outdoors, in- 




GOOD LOCATION FOR OUTDOOR BROODER 

In warm weather outdoor brooders should be placed where the chicks 
will have plenty of shade. The row of sunflowers illustrated above furnishes 
excellent shade for the chicks and the seeds are good poultry feed. 



HOW TO HATCH AND REAR CHICKS SUCCESSFULLY 



37 



dependent of any form of enclosure or protection. Such 
a brooder is illustrated on page 34. 

Colony Hovers 

While colony hovers are of comparatively recent de- 
velopment, their popularity is such that they have quite 
largely displaced other kinds of brooding equipment where 
many chicks are to be raised. These hovers represent great 
economies in cost of equipment, fuel and time, and give 
the best of results in everyday use. The larger sizes 
are built to accommodate as many as 1,000 chicks, though 
there are few who care to have more than 500 to 600 in 
one flock under even the largest of hovers, and most pre- 
fer not to exceed 300 to 400. Colony hovers are made to 
burn either coal or oil and are equipped with thermostats 
that automatically control the hover temperature by reg- 
lating the draft or fuel supply, thus insuring the comfort 
of the chicks at all times and avoiding waste of fuel. 
They have sufficient heating capacity to keep a good- 
sized room at a comfortable temperature besides maintain- 
ing correct brooding heat under the hover. 

DETAILS IN THE CARE AND FEEDING OF CHICKS 

The beginner is much more apt to be successful if 
he keeps his brooder in a comfortable house or apartment 
until warm, settled weather has arrived, no matter what 
type of brooder is used. For lamp-heated hovers small 
colony houses are ideal, and if the lamp fumes are piped 
outdoors comparatively little ventilation will be required, 
thus conserving heat. Avoid small, low coops, however, 
and makeshift structures. Chicks invariably will be bet- 
ter eared for if they are in a house or room convenient 
of access and comfortable for the at- 
tendant. If an outdoor brooder is 
used, locate it in a warm and shel- 
tered spot, and by all means provide 
a covered runway for the chicks. 
There are apt to be periods of several 
days at a time when the weather is 
too stormy for chicks to be outdoors, 
and even if confined to a good-sized 
brooder at this time they will fall off^ 
rapidly in condition. 

Brooder Temperature 

During the first day or two the 
hover compartment should be kept at 
100 to 102 degrees at the level of the 
chicks' backs. If the thermometer is 
so mounted that the bulb is not in 
that position, this will have to be tak- 
en into consideration. After two or 
three days the temperature may be 
allowed to drop a little, but should 
not go below 95 degrees during 
the first week. It is customary 
to recommend dropping the temper- 
ature about five degrees each week, 

and, as a rule, that will be found to be about right. 
Different broods of chicks vary in their requirements in 
this respect, however, while a somewhat higher tempera- 
ture is always required in cold weather than in warm. So, 
while the thermometer should always be kept in place and 
should be consulted regularly, if the chicks clearly are not 
warm enough at any given time the temperature should 
be raised regardless of whether it is "according to the 
rile" or not. 



Make Free Use of Litter 

The litter used in the brooder and in the brooder house 
has a great deal to do with the well-being of the chicks. 
If it is too coarse the chicks cannot work it over readily 
and do not get the feed that sifts down through to the 
floor. If too sparingly used the chicks will not get suf- 
ficient exercise in scratching for feed, and will soon de- 
velop leg weakness and other troubles. Without doubt 
the most satisfactory material for the purpose, if it can 
be obtained at reasonable cost, is short-cut alfalfa. The 
chicks will eat many of the fine particles of leaves, blos- 
soms, etc., and will be the better for so doing. Several 
inches of this material can be used to good advantage. 
One popular method of feeding known as the "deep litter 
method" is to bury enough chick feed in short-cut alfalfa 
at one time to meet the chicks' requirements for three 
weeks or more. Six to eight inches of litter is used in 
this case. In the South, cottonseed hulls usually are ob- 
tainable at low cost and are excellent for the purpose. 
If neither alfalfa nor cottonseed hulls are available, use 
chopped straw, chaff or mow sweepings, but beware of any 
such material th&t is moldy or extremely dusty. 

During the first two days the chick raiser will give 
his attention chiefly to training his chicks to use the hover 
so that they will know where to go when they are cold. 
This is readily done by keeping them confined near the hov- 
er and gradually increasing their liberty as they become 
acquainted with their surroundings and learn how to 
find their way back. It is desirable to give the chicks the 
liberty of the brooder or the house pen just as soon as 
possible, but do not enlarge their run so fast that they are 








SCENE IX BROODER YARD ON SMALL MONEY-MAKING PLANT 

The plant here illustrated was located on the outskirts of a village and, while only a limited acreage 
was availah)le, excellent results were secured — not only in egg production but in raising the pullets needed 
to renew the laying flock. 



in danger of losing their way and huddling together for 
warmth outside rather than going to the hover. Hud- 
dling or crowding is one of the dangers that the poultry 
keeper must avoid if he is to raise his chicks successfully. 

Care of Brooder House 

Cleanliness in the brooder house is always important 
and especially so when the chicks are brooded in large 
flocks. The floor should be well covered with litter, and 



38 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 



this must be changed often enough to keep it dry and free 
from foul odors, or from becoming excessively dusty. The 
litter should be fine and light so that the chicks will have 
no difficulty in turning it over and getting at the grain on 
or near the floor. For chicks up to three weeks old there 
is nothing better for the purpose than short-cut alfalfa. 




I ow-c< 



-T ROOSTING COOP FOK SM.\LL FLOCKS OF GROWINC; 
FOWLS ON R.\NGE 



If this is unobtainable or too expensive, clover hay cut 
quite .*hort, wheat chaff" or chopped straw may be used, 
varying the depth according to the character of the mate- 
rial and the age of the chicks. In the South, cottonseed 
hulls have been found satisfactory for this purpose. Lack- 
ing anything better, sawdust and planer shavings may be 
used after the chicks are several weeks old, but neither is 
desirable for newly hatched broods. 

Many persons keep young colony-brooded chicks in 
confinement for a rather long period, and in order to guard 
against cannabalism, leg weakness, lack of thrift, etc., all 
of which are conditions that are apt to develop among 
chicks that are kept in close quarters, it is imperative to 
give .special attention to their exercise. After the first 
few days all chick feed should be scattered over the litter 
and, if necessary, should be buried in it in order to keep 
the chicks busy a good part of the day. 

Until the chicks are thoroughly 
hover-wise they must be watched and 
never allowed to get far from home. 
If properly trained, however, by the 
time they are two weeks old (one 
week in mild weather) it should be 
safe to let them have access to a 
small outdoor run at least a part of 
each day, and their yard or range 
should be increased just as rapidly 
thereafter as they can be trusted with 
greater liberty. 

How to Feed Young Chicks 

The feeding of chicks is a com- 
paratively simple matter, thanks to 
the excellent commercial feeds that 
are now available for the poultry 
keeper's use. It is not necessary for 
him to spend his time mixing feeds," 
baking johnnycake, etc., as he can get 



better ready-mixed feeds than he can prepare at home, ana 
they cost little, if any more. 

The first day or two the chick needs nothing to eat. 
When hatched, its abdomen still contains 40 to 50 per 
cent of the volume of the original yolk and this will sup- 
ply every requirement for two days, or more if necessary. 
If the chicks are received by parcel post or express, how- 
ever, it is safe to assume that they are ready to be fed 
on arrival. After allowing them a little time to get warm 
and accustomed to their new quarters, give a light feed 
as suggested for the third day in the Feeding and Brood- 
ing Schedule presented herewith. It is a good plan to 
give the chicks a drink of water first (which they often 
need more than food), and then let them pick at some 
sharp sand or chick grit for a while before feeding. Dur- 
ing the first week it is wise also to sprinkle a little sand 
or grit over each soft feed when given, to make sure that 
the chicks get enough of this necessary part of the ration. 

There is more or less diversity of opinion and practice 
regarding the feeding of newly hatched chicks, due mainly 
to diff'erences in the conditions under which the chicks are 
raised, the skill of the feeder, and the vitality and vigor 
of the stock. It is quite possible for an expert to raise a 
brood of chicks successfully, using almost anything that 
can be fed with safety to adult fowls. Beginners, how- 
ever, will find that it is to their advantage to use the best 
rations they can secure. The experience of poultry keep- 
ers generally is that chicks do best on soft feed for two 
or three days, and thereafter need at least one-half of 
their ration in that form, the balance consisting of a mix- 
ture of cracked grains. It is possible to raise chicks on 
grain without any soft feed, or on soft feed without any 
grain, but better results are regularly secured where the 
two are provided in suitable combination. 

By way of stating the essentials of chick feeding and 
brooder management in the simplest manner and in the 
form best adapted to daily reference, the accompanying 
Feeding and Brooding Schedule has been prepared. This is 
not the only way in which chicks can be raised, but it is a 
practical, thoroughly tested one, and the beginner can rest 
assured that if he will faithfully follow this schedule he 
will have little trouble in successfully raising his chicks 
if they are strong and vigorous to begin with. 



' "nnnn^^^B 


^HH 




H^^H 




PJ^^BW^I 


'g;8 


^M 




BHp 




1: vE 


''^■^m 


Ih 




^BIP^^ 






1 


1 


mi 


^F ^^ 




1 



VINES PROVIDE .SHADE ECU BAKE YAUDS 

[f jrrowinff stock must be confined to bare yard?, train vines over the fences, as here shown, to su',>- 
ply .shade. Young bird.s will not do well if they have no sholicr from the hot summer sun. 



HOW TO HATCH AND REAR CHICKS SUCCESSFULLY 



39 





COMPLETE FEEDING AND BROODING SCHEDULE FOR CHICKS 


FROM 1st TO 28th DAY 


FEEDING 


RKOODI\G 


DAY 


CHICK 
FEED 


MASH 


MISCELLANEOUS 
FEEDS 


DRINK 


BROODER 
TEMP. 


GENERAL MANAGEMENT 


1st. 










100° at level 
of chicks' 
backs. 


Keep chicks confined close to hover. If they 
get out push them back under at frequent in- 
tervals. 


2iid. 




- -, 


Small pile of chick 
grit on brooder floor 
near hover. 


^^'ate^ or milk. 
Give cool water. 
but not cold. 


100° 


Give a little more liberty, but watch them cIospI^- 
to prevent their getting chilled while outside, 
f^se litter enough to keep the brooder floor well 
covered. 


yrd. 




Spfcial nurspry feed at 
intervals of 2;. to -^ 
hours. Moisten with 
milk if available. 


Sprinkle grit lightly 
over each moist feed. 
Continue to do this 
until Sth day. 
Keep grit before them 
in hoppers all the time. 


Sec that all the 
e}ucks learn how 
to drink today. 


100" 


Let the chicks h.ave room enough to get at the 
feed without crowding, but push them back under 
the hover at first sign of discomfort. Put them 
back at frequent intervals anyway. 


-Ith. 




Same as above. 


Provide fresh clean 
water whenever the 
supply gets soiled. 


98° 


Let the chicks run in and out of the hover at will, 
gi^'ing all the liberty they can be trusted with, but 
continue to put them back under the hover at 
intervals. 


5th. 


Two light 

feeds 


Same as above but 
feed lightly at times 
when chick feed is 
given. Remove s-ur- 
plus promptly. 


Clive a little succulent 
green feed, increasing 
gradually. After a few 
days let chicks have 
all they want. 


Scald water and 
milk VRSsels daily. 


9S° 


Clean out soiled litter daily from the hover space, 
and replace with fresh material. Except under 
the hover, litter does not need to be removed 
daily, but should be changed often enough to 
keep it dry and free from odor. 


fith. 


Two or three 

feeds. 


Two or three . regular 
feeds, alternating with 
chick feed. Add a little 
of some good mast' 
mixture to the nursery 
feed. 


Add 2% bone meal to 
the mash mixture, and 
continue feeding it dur- 
ing growing period, or 
until meat scrap can 
safply be fed. 


Never 1 e t the 
chicks gpt too 
thirsty. Provide 
enough founts so 
that there need be 
no crowding. 




Increase depth of litter in the brooder or on brood'T- 
house floor as the chicks learn to scratch for the 
chick feed. 


7th. 


Thro*, feeds. 


Two feeds, increasinfj; 
proportion of mash 
mixture and decrca:?ing 
nursery feed. 


Cranulated charcoal in 
hopper constantly here- 
after. 


Place drinking ves- 
sels on low plat- 
form so chicks will 
not scratch litter 
into them. 


05° 


Chicks should have the run of entire house pen 
by this time, if it is not too large. Watch to .see 
that they do not crowd in corners or "sun spots." 


Nth 

to 

14th. 


SaiDeas above. 


Two feeds, increasing 
mash so that by the 
ninth day nursery feed 
can be entirely omitted 
if desired. 


.\dd 5% sifted meat 
scrap to mash or equiva- 
lent amount of fresh 
or cooked meat, ciit 
fine. 


Continue to use 
protected water 
founts until chicks 
are well grown. 


Gr;idually re- 
duce tempera- 
ture to 90° by 
the 14th day. 


If weather is warm, let the chick.s outdoors for 
a while during the middle of the day, confining 
them close to the door at hrst. Increase the 
size of run as rapidly as they can be trusted. Keep 
plenty of litter on the brooder-house floor. 


1-lth 

to 
21st. 


Number of 
feeds may be 
reduced to two 
if chicks have 
good outdoor 
ruri. 

.Same as above. 
Add whole 
wheat and 
c-oRTse cracked 
frraijis. 


Two feed.s daily. Al- 
way3 use trays or small 
troughs for moist mash. 
Never throw it on floor 
of brooder or on the 
ground. 


Increase proportion of 
meat scrap to 10% by 
end of this period. 


Reduce tem- 
perature gradu- 
ally to S5° by 
end of period. 


No matter what the weather is, let the chick.s 
run out every day. and encourage them to stay 
out if they are disposed to loaf in the house. Spade 
up a section of the yard to induce them to scratch 
in the loose earth. Busi', active chicks will never 
have leg weakness if outdoors. 


21st 
to 

2Sth. 


Two feeds daily. 11 
chick.s are running out, 
limited dry-mash feed- 
ing may begin. Leave 
before the chicks all 
the time. 


Increase meat scrap to 
15% it chicks have no 
milk nr uny other 
source uf animal food. 


If the chicks are 
on range, see that 
the water vessels 
are placed in the 
shade. 


Reduce to S0° 
but remember 
that chicks 
MUST be kept 
comfortable. 


By the end of this period the chicks should be 
well developed, activp, and able to take care of 
thomsetves generally. From this time on give 
them all the liberty possible, but do not allow 
them to run in the weeds, tall grass, etc., in wet 
weather. 



Special Points in Feeding 

Grit. Chicks need grit before feed. Sharp sand is 
good, but specially prepared chick-size grit usually is 
most readily obtained. Feed it in hoppers and during the 
first week sprinkle a little over each soft feed given. 

Nursery Feed. This is a specially prepared feed to 
be given during the first fevi^ days. It may consist of 
bread crumbs and milk or hard-boiled eggs, johnnycake 
or something similar, if homemade, but the commercial 
nursery feeds are better as a rule, and much more con- 
venient. Feed for several days, gradually adding a good 
mash mixture and reducing the nursery feed, which may 
be entirely discontinued after a week or ten days. 

The Mash. This consists of finely ground meals, and 
may be fed either moist or dry in hoppers. A good for- 
mula for a home mixture is equal parts by weight of bran, 
corn meal, and white middlings, with 5 to 15 per cent of 
best meat scraps, the exact amou<it depending upon the 
age of the chicks. One-half part of breakfast oats may 
be added if obtainable at a fair price. The cheapest way 
to feed moist mashes is to provide shallow trays or pans, 
letting the chicks help themselves at will, removing the 
surplus in five minutes after feeding. Convenient feed- 
ing vessels also are obtainable, these being so constructed 
as to prevent the chicks from getting into the feed with 
tiieir feet. Such feeders will undoubtedly save their cost 
in a short time. The mash may be fed dry in hoppers 
where moist mashes are not convenient, but better growth 



and development will be secured, as a rule, when the lat- 
ter are regularly supplied. 

Chick Feed. This is a mixture of cracked grains and 
small seeds. After the first two or three days about one- 
half of the ration should consist of chick feed. Use a 
good standard brand even if it costs a little more. Buying 
low-grade feed is the poorest kind of economy. 

Milk. There is nothing better for young chicks than 
milk, either sweet or sour, and by many it is believed that 
an abundance of this affords a measure of protection 
against diarrhea. Care should be taken to keep milk ves- 
sels clean, scalding them out at least once a day. 

Animal Feed. Chicks need meat in some form almost 
from the start, though it should be fed very sparingly 
during the first ten days, especially if the chicks have 
milk to drink or if infertile eggs are mixed in the mash. 
Fresh lean meat is best of course, but meat scrap may 
safely be used, sifting out the parts too large for chicks 
to swallow. 

Green Feed. Succulent green feed is a natural part 
of the chick ration, and should be supplied almost from 
the start. Lettuce leaves, chopped onion tops, finely cut 
cabbage, mangels, etc., are all good and after the first 
week may be fed liberally. Sprouted oats also are excel- 
lent, though during the first two or three weeks it is ad- 
visable to feed only the sprouts, chopped fine. 

Charcoal. This can be secured in chick size and 
should be kept before them in hoppers from the start. It 



40 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 



is an excellent corrective and its use will help greatly 
in preventing digestive disorders. 

Care and Feeding of Growing Stock 

While losses usually are few in number during the 
"growing period" and the chicks do well if reasonably 
favorable conditions are given, many poultry keepers en- 




COLONY HOUSE WITH SAFETY DOOR 

Door is elevated about 2 feet above the ground and provided with an 
alighting shelf for the chicks. Door is left open day and night and chicks are 
readily trainee! to go in and out, but four-footed enemies cannot disturb them. 

counter serious difficulties as a result of plain careless- 
ness. The chicks now are large enough so that they can 
stand some abuse without noticeable ill effects, but the 
poultry keeper can depend upon it that if he does not 
properly feed them, is careless regarding their brooding 
or housing, or the conditions under which they are kept, 
his losses due to slow growth, stunted development, in- 
ferior health, etc., will in the long run prove quite serious. 

Brooder Temperature 

In warm weather the chicks may not need artificial 
heat after they are four weeks old but, early in the season 
and in cold, wet weather well along into the summer, 
chicks under eight weeks often are quite uncomfortable 
without some heat. The average chick is not well feath 
ered out until six weeks of age or older, and up to this 
time artificial heat should be supplied or at least the 
poultry keeper should be able to pro\'ide it. even though 
during mild weather he may allow the lamp or the stove 
to go out. 

Cold Brooders Needed 

After artificial heat is no longer supplied it is desir- 
able to provide the chicks with some kind of cold brooder 
under which they can collect at night. It may be of the 
simplest type, its purpose being merely to confine the 
body heat of the chicks and keep them warm and comfort- 
able, and it should be so constructed as to prevent their 
piling up. For a flock of 50 to 100 chicks a good cold 
brooder can be made by using a box about 3 feet square, 
with walls 8 to 10 inches high, and a cloth hover so ad- 
justed in height that the chicks can get their backs up 
against it. The floor under the hover should be well lit- 
tered with fine-cut straw, chaff or planer shavings, with 
the material banked up in the corners to prevent huddling 
at these points. 

For larger broods a frame of suitable size may be lo- 
cated along one side of the colony or brooder house, this 
frame to be covered with muslin or burlap, with curtains 
of similar material around the open sides. If necessary, 
one or two additional thicknesses of burlap, or a light 



covering of planer shavings, may be placed on top to re- 
tain heat. This affords a comfortable place for the chicks 
on cold nights and should be used until they no longer 
need it, which fact will be plainly indicated by their re- 
fusing any longer to go under. Then perches should be 
provided and the chicks taught to use them. 

Desirable Changes in Ration 

About the fourth week, as a rule, chicks no longer 
are satisfied with ordinary chick feed, but demand larger 
grains, and these usually are cheaper than chick feed 
it is economy to introduce them into the ration as rapid- 
ly as practicable. Many manufacturers of commercial 
poultry feeds provide a special grain mixture for growing 
stock, but if this is not available, the ordinary scratch 
feed put up for adult fowls can safely be fed after the 
chicks are six weeks old, gradually increasing the propor- 
tion as the chicks show their preference for it. 

If home mixtures are used, either in whole or in part, 
cracked com should be made the basis of the mixture, 
adding wheat, barley, kafir corn, etc., as available, and as 
price warrants. From the time the chicks are five or 
six weeks old they can safely be fed all the sprouted oats 
they will eat, or if these are not available, soaked or 
boiled oats may form a liberal part of the ration. Do not 
feed dry oats to chicks, however, except in limited quan- 
tity. They can be depended upon not to eat an excess of 
fibre if the oats are boiled, soaked or sprouted, but it is 
dangerous to feed them dry until the birds are well on 
their way to maturity. 

The number of feeds that should be given will depend 
quite largely upon whether or not the chicks have free 
range. When kept in confinement, it usually will be 
found most satisfactory to feed them morning, noon and 
evening, giving two feeds of cracked grain and one of 
moist mash. If the chicks are on open range there prob- 
ably will be few of them about the coop or house at noon,, 
in which case two feeds a day may be sufficient. 

Moist and Dry Mashes 

Many persons find it more convenient to give the 
moist mash in the morning when the chicks are turned 
out, a full feed of mixed grains or cracked com at night, 
and soaked or sprouted oats at noon, if a noon feed is 
given. In all cases a good palatable dry mash should be 
supplied in hoppers, and if the chicks are on range it is 
practicable to hopper-feed cracked corn also. Nothing at 
all is gained by stinting the growing chicks. TJie more 




ILOCK OF PLYMOUTH ROCK CHICKS AT FF.ED TROUGH 

With the feed trough protected in the manner here indicated, chicks can- 
not get into it, and the contents will be kept clean and much waste prevented. 



HOW TO HATCH AND REAR CHICKS SUCCESSFULLY 



41 



COMPLETE FEEDING AND BROODING SCHEDULE FOR CHICKS FROM FIFTH WEEK TO MATURITY 



WKS. 



5th 

to 

8th. 



Sth 

to 

12th. 



12th 

to 

20th. 



20th 

to 

26th. 



GRAIN FEEDING 



Gradually change over from 
fhirk fend to a co.arser grain 
mixture. If a good brand of 
commercial growing" feed is 
not available, use the regular 
scratch feed for adult fowls. 
Feed twice a day, usually 
noon and evening. 



If the chicks are in confine- 
ment, continue to feed two 
grain feeds a day. Chicks on 
range after the weather be- 
comes warm will usually be 
scattered over the fields at 
the noon hour, and will not 
come for feed. In this case 
one feed a day (in the evening) 
may be sufficient. 



The regular adult grain mix- 
ture can he fed now, or a 
home mixture of coarse cracked 
grain, whole wheat and bar- 
ley. Feed oats sprouted or 
soaked. Continue to give two 
feeds a day to chicks in con- 
finement and one for chicks 
on_ open range. With range 
chickens, keep cracked corn 
in a hopper or box where they 
can have access to it when- 
ever they are hungry. 



Feed liberally, but vary the 
proportions of the grains ac- 
cording to the breed and the 
development of the chicks. 
If Leghorn^;, and they appear 
to be developing too rapidly, 
increase the proportions of 
oats. If pullets, and these 
are maturing too slowly, in- 
crease the corn. 



MASH 



The chicks should be given 
dry mash now. Until they 
are accustomed to it watch 
them and if necessary 
limit consumption for a 
time. Continue to give 
one moist mash feed daily 
for best growth and de- 
velopment. 



MISCELLANEOUS 
FEEDS 



Supply one feed of moist 
mash daily. This and 
the two grain feeds may 
be given as convenient. 
Moist mash in the morn- 
ing suits most persons 
best. Keep a dry mash 
in the hoppers all the 
time hereafter. 



Keep grit constantly be- 
fore the chicks and unless 
sure that it is not needed 
supply granulated bone in 
hoppers also. If the yards 
or the range do not fur- 
nish plenty of SUCCU- 
LENT green feed, see that 
a supply is provided. 



Whether the dry mash 
which is to be fed con- 
tinuoush' until the chicks 
arrive at maturity should 
be supplemented with a 
daily moist mash will de- 
pend upon the con^'cnience 
of the caretaker and the 
condition of the birds. 
"W it bout doubt, growth 
can be hastened by one 
feed of rich moist mash 
daily. 



Same as above. 



Same as above. 

The mash should carry 10 
to 15 per cent of ment 
scrap unless certain that 
the range is supplying 
an abundance of insects, 
worms, etc. 



Supply aduU-size grit, keep 
up the supply of succulent 
green feed, and if the 
chicks seem to be getting 
1ired of the regular ration, 
introduce anything new 
that may be available, to 
stimulate their appetites 
and keep them on full 
feed. 



li the birds are early 
hatched and appear to be 
coming into maturity too 
early, decrease the amount 
of meat scrap. In ihe 
case of late-hatched birds 
the amount of meat scrap 
in the mash can be safely 
increased to 25 per cent. 



DRINK 



Continue to supply water 
in two-piece founts and 
keep them where the chicks 
will not be able to scratch 
litter into them. If milk 
is available keep it before 
the chicks constantly in 
Clean drinking vessels. 



Protect the water ves- 
sela from the sun. Chicks 
do not like lukewarm 
water and it does not do 
them as much good as 
when reasonably cool. 
Empty the vessels every 
night and fill them with 
fresh water again in the 
morning, and keep them 
always in the shade. 



Usually larger water ves- 
sels now will be required. 
Earthenware vessels of 
one-half to two gallons in 
size are excellent for sum- 
mer use, as they are easily 
kept clean and not readily 
upset. If kept where small 
chicks have access to them, 
they will have co be pro- 
tected in some way to 
prevent chicks from being 
drowned. 



BROODING AND GENERAL 
MANAGEMENT 



Continue to supply some heat in 
cold and damp weaiher. Where 
hovers or brooders are used with- 
out heat, take advantcige of every 
sunny day to air the hover and 
to dry out the space under it . 
Brooders without artificial heat 
are always more or less mustj"" 
and damp. 

It seldom will be necessary to 
supply heat now, though it usually 
will be found desirable to con- 
tinue the use of cold brooders 
until toward the end of the period, 
if the season is cold. Chicks 
should learn to go on perches 
when cold brooders are aban- 
doned . They will be safer, and 
there will be less danger of their 
crowding. 



See that there is plenty of perch 
room for all of the chicks, and if 
some of them are a little slow- 
about taking to the perches, put 
them up by hand at night until 
they learn to go on. Do not al- 
low them, under any condition, to 
bimch and hufldle in corners. As 
soon as the cockerels begin to an- 
noy the pullets, remove them. 
Keep a close watch for hce, and 
disinfect the coops and perches 
at fretjuent intervals. 



Increase the number of,.\s the fowls approach adult .size 
drinking vessels so that i see that their coops and houses 



the growing stock will 
have plenty of water to 
drink 



are not overcrowded. It is better 
to sacrifice a few, if necessary, 
rather than permanently to in- 
jure all. Provide all ventilation 
possible . G rowing stock must 
not be shut up in close, stulTy 
ho\ises. 



they eat the faster they grow, and the cheaper it is in the 
long run to raise them to adult size, or to market age 
if they are to be sold before they reach maturity. 

Importance of Green Feed 

Green stuff is one of the cheapest feeds for chicks 
when it is grown to good advantage, and there is nothing 
that is so good for them. For that reason, even though 
the birds may be on open range, it often is desirable to 
make some special provision for succulence. Rape and 
Swiss chard are popular for this purpose during the sum- 
mer months, also cabbage, the latter being especially de- 
sirable where the chicks are confined and must have 
their green feed carried to them. 

The average range supplies a limited amount of ani- 
mal feed, but rarely sufficient for the needs of the chicks. 
It usually is desirable to provide some meat scrap, though 
this may not be necessary if the chicks have all the milk 
they care to drink. Semisolid buttermilk now is generally 
available for the use of poultry keepers in all parts of the 
country and at fairly reasonable prices as compared with 
r:eat scrap or any other source of animal feed. 

Growing chicks must have grit in order properly to 
digest their feed, and, as a rule, a supply of commercial 
grit should be kept on hand. This may not be needed by 
range chicks, but if the feeder finds that they pick up grit 



greedily when a small amount is thrown out for a test, 
he should see to it that a supply is kept where they can 

Growth AfiFected By Crowding 

Too much emphasis can scarcely be placed upon the 
fact that the conditions under which chicks are kept and 
the rations fed have a marked effect upon the develop- 
ment of the birds, and the grower has no right to condemn 
a breeder for supplying inferior stock unless he has done 
his part by giving the chicks favorable conditions for their 
development. Where the chicks are badly crowded, or 
where yardroom is limited, it nearly always pays to sell 
the surplus cockerels and cull pullets as broilers. There 
is no practical advantage in keeping the birds to maturity 
when, in order to do so, it is necessary to handicap the 
entire brood by crowding. Whenever there is any doubt 
as to whether or not there is sufficient room, give the pul- 
lets the benefit by selling off the cockerels just as fast as 
they reach marketable size. 

In order to put the essentials of care and feeding of 
growing chicks in the simplest and most concrete form, 
the accompanying schedule has been prepared, and if the 
chick raiser will keep it on hand for reference during 
the summer and will follow the suggestions there given, 
he will find that his young stock will grow rapidly, will 
be thrifty in condition, and will mature normally and at 
the lowest feed cost. 



CHAPTER VII 



Some Practical Poultry Houses and How to Build Them 

Medium-Cost Houses to Meet Every Practical Need of the Back- Yard Poultry Keeper Are Here Illustrated and 
Described— Helpful Suggestions for Locating and Planning Small Poultry Plant— Details of House Construc- 
tion Enable the Beginner to Do His Own Carpentry Work Successfully and Economically 



=^^rg^ LANNING the back-yard poultry plant should 
receive careful consideration and it is true 
economy to secure all available information on 
the subject before actually beginning building 
operations. It is never wise to build hastily 
nor on the impulse of the moment, even though only a 
small flock is to be kept. The beginner will do well to 
study the subject until he has a clear idea of what he is 
going to do and what he vidll need in order to do it. 

Success with fowls depends, in every case, upon the 
caretaker's interest in them, and it is much more im- 
portant than appears on the surface, to give special at- 
tention to making the poultry plant attractive. "Appear- 
ances" have much to do with the attitude that one takes 
toward his flock — which fact explains the reason why those 
whose poultry plants are neat and pleasing in appear- 
ance so often get better returns from their fowls than 
others who have makeshift buildings. It is true that 
fowls may do just as well in a cheap, rough structure 
as they will in one that is neatly built and made attractive 
to the eye, provided they get proper care. The care the 
fowls receive, however, is apt to be more or less in keep- 
ing with their surroundings, and the average person is 
much less likely to maintain his interest in a flock that 
has nothing whatever to commend it to him except the 
number of eggs laid, than would be the case if the fowl.'< 
were of good breeding, and the house one that he could be 
proud to .show to his callers. 

Neatness and attractiveness do not necessarily call 
lor much added cost. They may be secured with quite 
cheap materials if only a little pains are taken. The 
back-yard poultry house illustrated on this page shows 
what may be done with low-cost materials, without any 
special increase in cost. The owner is justly proud of it 
though it was built almost entirely of scrap lumber. On- 




AN ATTEACTIVli BACK-YARD POULTRY PLANT 

This house was m.itlo of scrap lumber chiefly and at little cost. It is 6 by tt feet with a 4 by 
4-foot window on the south side. The yard is .S feet square with a (i-foot fence. To the left 
of yard is a movable yard of the s-imc dimensions for voung chirks. 
42 



ly a little more material and a little more labor were re- 
quired than would have been used in providing a shabby 
structure of which the 
owTier would quickly become 
ashamed. It is not necessary, 
however, to put on any "ex- 
tras" or to introduce special 
ornamental features. A plain, 
substantial building, neatly 
constructed and painted, is 
always attractive. If short 
lengths of scrap lumber are 
to be used they may be ar- 
ranged in panels, as in the 
house mentioned in the pre- 
ceding paragraph, thus dis- 
guising the joints. Even 
rough boards with cracks 
and knot holes can be work- 
ed into an attractive house 
by covering with prepared 
roofing divided into panels 
with narrow strips of wood 
as in the house shown on 
page 46. 

Those who are fortunate 
enough to have sheds or out- 
buildings on their lots can 
save considerable expense by 
remodeling them so as to 
make them available for the 
use of fowls. This is not 
necessarily a difficult nor ex- 
pensive undertaking, but it 

will pay to do the work well, making the buildings truly 
comfortable and convenient for the pur- 
pose. Too often such remodeling is done 
in a hasty and ill-considered way and the 
result is far from satisfactory. One 
thing that must be kept in mind in re- 
modeling old buildings for this use is the 
fact that they often are rat harbors and 
this condition should always be remedied 
in whatever changes are made. Either 
put in a concrete floor or, if a board floor 
is used, raise the building at least a foot 
off the ground. 

Too often those who build waste 
both labor and material through failure 
to secure suitable plans. To be genuine- 
ly practical, the poultry house, wherever 
it is built and for whatever purpose in- 
tended, should be correctly designed. It 
is a grave mistake to assume that be- 
cause the house is to be a small one and 
expense a serious item any sort of 




PLAN FOR I'OULTRY YAR-p 
ON S.MALT. LOT 



SOME PRACTICAL POULTRY HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 



43 




POULTUY HOUSE WITH WINDOWS ON ALL SIDLS 

This arrangement of windows gives better lighting and better ventila- 
tion, but must be madedraftproofin winter. Photo from Kans. Exp. .Station. 

makeshift structure will do. That usually results in a 
building that is inconvenient and poorly planned, and 
which at best only answers after a fashion the pur- 
pose for which it was intended. Such structures, be- 
cause of the discomfort and effort required in caring for 
them, are almost invariably neglected, lice and mites mul- 
tiply, and presently the owner gets discouraged and quits. 

How to Lay Out the Back- Yard Poultry Plant 

Back-yard poultry plants must be laid out, of course, 
with reference to the amount of ground available. Those 
who expect to keep a small flock for egg production, pos- 
sibly keeping the birds in confinement all or most of the 
time, vnll have no special interest in this subject. Others 
who intend to keep a greater number of fowls, possibly 
all that can be properly accommodated in the space avail- 
able, vidll want to locate their houses and plan their 
yards with some care. 

For a back-yard plant of one or two laying or breed- 
ing flocks, where the intention is to raise at least some 
young stock, a layout such as is illustrated on page 42 
vnW be found quite convenient. Here the rear lawn is 
utilized for brooding the young chicks until they begin 
to become troublesome, when they must be transferred to 
one of the house pens. A practical plan with such a plant 
is to start in the fall with both pens well filled with lay- 
ers. These will gradually be culled out until by the time 
the chicks have outgrown their brooder in the summer 



there will be left only enough adults for one pen, the 
other then being available for the youngsters. So man- 
aged, even a moderate-sized lot can accommodate 40 to 
50 layers, enough young stock being raised to renew half 
the flock each fall and providing about as many fowls for 
table use as the average family will require. 

Where a larger number of fowls is to be kept, a prac- 
tical plan for utilizing a large back yard is shown in the 
diagram on this page. This drawing is almost an exact 
reproduction of the layout of a back-yard poultry plant 
in a New York village. The owner for years realized 
much pleasure as well as profit from his flock, and made it 
a source of considerable revenue. He has found it no 
serious trouble to take care of a flock of 50 to 125 layers, 
doing so out of regular office hours — mornings, evenings 
and Saturday afternoons, with a little help from his wife 
and son, the latter quite small. 

The portion of this lot lying between the street and 
the hedge, marked K, was a beautiful lawn on which chicks 




CONVENIENT LOW-COST HOUSE FOK BACK-Y.\RD FLOCK 

View shows front and part of interior. This house may be built with 
sides and roof in separate sections for eas>' moving. Note adjustable muslin- 
covered shuUer for regulating ventilation. Photo from Storrs E\p. Station, 

were brooded in the spring until they began to interfere 
with the flowers, when they were transferred to the fenced 
section containing the brooder A and the grape arbor C, 
which also was a lawn. There they remained until they 
were large enough to fly out over the 3-foot fence, when 




PLAN FOR LAYING OUT A GOOD-SIZED BACK-YARD POULTRY PLANT 

This is almost an exact reproduction of the layout of a New York back -letter's poultry plant on which he keeps a flock of 50 to 12ft 
layers, and raises 200 or .300 chicks each year. He realizes a Bub.stantial income from salt s ot breeding stock and eggs fur hatching, also 
eggs and poultry for table use. 



44 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 



they were again transferred to yard H, where they re- 
mained until fall. This yard was provided with three 
small colony houses, about 3 by 6 feet, in which all the 
chicks, 200 to 300, were comfortably accommodated until 




FKONT VIEW OF POULTRY HOUSE MADE FROAI THREE 
PIANO BOXES 

the cockerels reached broiler size. Then they were either 
marketed or transferred to the cockerel pen F in 
the permanent house where they could be kept until wanted 
for use on the table or grown to full size as breeders. 
The permanent house represented by D D D was large 
enough to accommodate 125 pullets and hens in the fall. 
These were culled down through the winter so that at 
breeding season there were not more than about 25 to a 
pen. The section J was kept permanently in use as a 
garden and, in addition, each of the yards E E E was in 
garden crops once in three years. 

This particular poultry keeper was a breeder of 
standard fowls and his total sales, including hatching 
eggs and breeding stock, totaled several hundred dol- 
lars each year. The frontispiece on page 2 shows a poultry 
plant similar to the one just described 
and illustrates how practical it is to 
utilize a good-sized yard in this way 
and how attractive in appearance it 
may be made. In none of the plans 
presented has any effort been made 
to designate the size of the houses 
yards, etc., as this must be determin- 
ed entirely by the size of the lot and 
the number of fowls to be kept or 
raised during the year. 

Where the soil is heavy and not 
well drained, there is always some 
danger of soil contamination when 
fowls are kept in close quarters, and 
it is advisable, wherever possible, to 
provide double yards so that they car' 
be used alternately for fowls and for 
growing crops, the latter using up the 
fertilizer deposited by the birds and 



greatly reducing the danger of the ground becoming in- 
fested with disease genns. This often can be conveniently 
done by providing front and rear yards. Under some condi- 
tions the most practical plan is to have a small yard next 
the house to which the fowls have access all the time 
and which is frequently cleaned and disinfected; adjoin- 
ing this is a larger yard kept in sod or in cultivated crops 
to which the fowls are given access only at such times 
as it can be done without injury to the growing plants. 

One Pennsylvania poultry keeper provided a double 
yard in this way, the small yard being excavated to a 
depth of eighteen inches or two feet and filled in with 
gravel. This gave excellent drainage and practically 
eliminated all danger of poisoned ground. The adjoining 
yard was in grass sod, kept neatly trimmed, and the fowls 
were turned on it often enough to supply them with a 
large part of the green feed required, but not long enough 
at a time to injure the sod. Such a grass plot, particu- 
larly if the hose can be turned on it in dry weather, will 
provide a great amount of the best succulent green feed, 
and it will be available continuously from early spring 
until late in the fall. 

Planning the House 

The beginner will do well to deny himself the pleas- 
ure of planning the house and adopt an approved plan pre- 
pared by some person who thoroughly understands the 
requirements. He will find that by doing this he will get 
a more satisfactory house and at lower cost than can be 
secured in any other way. If, for any reason, he desires 
to make his own plans he should be sure that he thor- 
oughly understands the essentials and knows how to avoid 
the errors in design that are particularly liable to develop 
in small houses. It is not possible here to go into detail 
in regard to poultry house construction, but there aie 
some special questions that every beginner asks and on 
which he needs definitely to be informed in order wisely 
to choose between the types of houses available and the 
different methods of equipping them. These are here con- 
sidered briefly. 

Details of Construction 

The floor of the poultry house may be of earth, boards 
or concrete. Earth floors greatly reduce cost and are suit- 
able for small houses that can readily be moved to new 
locations, thus avoiding the necessity for periodically re- 







X 








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1^ 




BSh:^'^^<i^..y ^^^^^^^^B 


^^^^■^^^H^H^9H|^^9^9n^HB^SB|I^H|^ 


k 








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B 








'^HMHI 


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4 






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SIDE MEW OF POULTRY HOUSE x\MDE FROM THREE PI.\NO BOXES 



SOME PRACTICAL POULTRY HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 



■45 



moving the dirt and refilling again with clean earth or 
sand as must otherwise be done. Such floors are not de- 
sirable where the soil is not thoroughly well drained. Port- 
able houses of large size should have board floors. These 
make the house more durable by stiffening the frame so 
that it is not racked in moving, are more sanitary, and 
may be made ratproof. Permanent houses should always 
be provided with board or concrete floors. The latter 
usually are cheaper in the long run and, being thoroughly 
sanitary and easily cleaned, are the first choice of expe- 
rienced poultry keepers. 

The general dimensions of all well-constructed poultry 
houses are similar; three and one-half to four feet of floor 
space are generally allowed for each adult fowl where 
Leghorns are kept, or 4 to 5 feet where fowls of the larger 
breeds are kept, and 5 to 6 feet for small breeding flocks. 
Small houses usually are built wdth a shed roof, making the 
front 6 to 7 feet high and the rear 4% to 5% feet, these 
dimensions depending somewhat on the height of the in- 
dividual caretaker. There is no economy in making the 
building so low that the attendant cannot enter it with- 
out stooping. 




A SINGLE PIANO-BOX POULTRY HOUSE 

In practically all cases the east, west and north sides 
are made tight for winter use, providing for most of the 
light and ventilation in the south front. However, in 
many sections, a house so constructed is too hot in the 
summertime and, if over twelve feet in depth, will be 
much better lighted and ventilated if small windows are 
provided in the east and west ends. Many also provide 
windows under the droppings boards in the back part of 
the house. The results secured in experiments in the use 
of artificial illumination (see Chapter XVT) have shown 
the great importance of having poultry houses well light- 
ed in order to prolong the day. A house that has only 
small openings on the south side will be dark enough to 
send the fowls to roost half an hour earlier during the 
short days of winter than would be the case if some light 
were provided. 

A house with small windows on all sides in order to 
have the floor well lighted is illustrated on page 43, and 
those who have tried this plan pronounce it quite sat- 
isfactory. In any climate where it is necessary to keep 
the fowls confined to the house for days at a time, a rea- 
sonable amount of glass should be provided. Many, even 
in the North, do not do this, but as a rule houses 
so built are poorly lighted when the muslin shutters are 




CROSS SECTION OF NEBP.ASKA BACK-YARD POULTRY HOUSE 
Rr'prorhiced froni Nebraska Biilk-tili No. 49. 

ciosed, as often is necessary in cold or stormy weather, and 
it is impossible to keep the fowls properly occupied in 
health-giving activities under such conditions. The use 
of glass becomes of added importance in view of the grow- 
ing belief among practical poultry keepers that a reason- 
able degree of warmth is essential to best production in 
winter. It rarely is practical to employ artificial heat in the 
poultry house but it will pay to go as far as possible in 
making the fowls comfortable by conserving heat without 
unduly restricting ventilation. This means that enough 
glass must be used so that the house will be well lighted 
when it is desirable to keep the muslin shutters closed. 

While there are some objections to the use of muslin- 
covered shutters, this still remains the most practical 
method of ventilating the poultry house. It provides for 
an exchange of air without drafts, and experience has 
shown that the use of a reasonable amount of muslin in 
a house that has damp or frosty walls will promptly 
correct the condition. The amount of muslin required de- 
pends entirely upon climatic conditions. In the far North 
a comparatively small area is sufficient, while in the South 
the greater part of the front may be of muslin if con- 
venient. Obviously, where much muslin is provided no 
glass will be required. Muslin is easily clogged by dust 




iHED-ROOF POULTRY HOUSE FOR S.MALL FLOCK OF LAYERS 
Photo from Nebraska Evperiment Scation. 



46 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 



and when wet is almost air-tight, for which reasons many 
substitute burlap. This material provides for a more 
rapid air circulation but obstructs the light. 

The different illustrations in this chapter show the 
various arrangements of windows and muslin shutters 
that can readily be adapted to houses of almost any de- 
sign. The small house shown on page 43 has no glass 
at all, which reduces its cost but restricts its adaptability. 
The muslin-covered shutter is arranged to slide up and 
down on the outside, working in grooves on either side of 
the opening. The opening can be adjusted to any desired 
size, the shutter being held in place by a hook which en- 
gages the wire netting back of the shutter. An eye at 
the top of the frame is provided for the hook so as to 
close the entire opening when desired. 

One objection to openings that go clear up to the roof, 
as here illustrated, is that under some conditions they 
permit air currents to follow down the rafters and to 
strike the fowls on the perches. To prevent this it may 




T.AYTNG HOUSE WITH OUTSIDE NESTS AND ADJUSTABLE SHUTTER 



be necessary to place a light burlap or muslin screen in 
front of the perches. In a good-sized house this screen 
may take the form of a shutter hinged at the top so 
that it can be hooked up out of the way when not needed. 
In small houses where a shutter would be in the way, the 
screen may consist of a curtain attached to a pole and 
allowed to hang straight down from the ceiling, being 
rolled up and fastened to the rafters when not needed. 
As a rule, burlap is the best material to use as it will 
prevent drafts without seriously obstructing ventilation. 
The purpose of this screen is not so much to keep the 
fowls warm, though that also is desirable in extremely 
cold weather, but to protect them from drafts, and to do 
this it need not extend below the level of the front perch. 
On this and the following pages are illustrated a 
number of houses suitable for back-yard use, some of them 
small enough to meet the requirements of a little six to 
ten-fowl pen for family use, and others- large enough for 
a good-sized poultry plant where enough fowls are kept 
to make them an important source of income. In the 
space here available it obviously is impossible to give com- 
plete plans for the construction of these houses, but the 
illustrations presented and the general instructions for 



equipment will give a fair idea of how to construct them. 
Those who want complete plans for poultry houses of any 
size are referred to "Poultry Houses and Fixtures" (8th 
edition), a new, profusely illustrated 112-page book pub- 
lished by Reliable Poultry Journal Publishing Company. 

A Piano Box House 

A house for a flock of half a dozen hens can be pro- 
vided at less cost by the use of a piano box than in any 
other way. The illustration on page 45 shows a conven- 
ient and simple manner of so utilizing such a box. The 
window and door are placed in what was originally the 
bottom of the box, the perch being located along the rear. 
The nests can be placed along one end or, better still, on 
the outside of the building thus making them more con- 
venient of access and giving more room for the fowls in 
the house. The door should be a double one instead of 
single as here illustrated. The outer door should be mus- 
lin covered and the inner one of wire. In mild weather 
or on warm sunny days in winter, the 
muslin-covered door can be left open, 
thus providing good ventilation. In 
cold weather, with this door closed 
the fowls will be quite snug and 
comparatively warm. 

Poultry House Made From Three 
Piano Boxes 
The house shown in the two illus- 
trations on page 44 is fairly good .siz- 
ed and represents probably the maxi- 
mum of floor space that can bfe se- 
cured with a given amount of lumber, 
or at a given cost. As will readily 
lie seen, two piano boxes are placed 
in an upright position with the backs 
toward each other and 2 to 2% feet 
apart. The backs are removed and 
from these material is secured for en- 
rlosing space between the two boxes. 
The third box is placed on the ground 
with the back dovm and, after the 
bottom boards are removed, is fas- 
tened to the front of one of the up- 
right boxes. The back part of the upper side of 
this third box (originally the front) is loos- 
ened and raised so as to give an even slope as shown. If 
the house is to have an earth floor the boards removed 
from bottoms and backs should furnish ample material to 
finish it complete. If a board floor is desired it will be bet- 
ter to provide two-by-fours for sills and joists and some 
regular flooring lumber. This house is covered through- 
out with prepared roofing. Perches are located to the left 
of the door and the hinged shutter on the semimonitor top 
can be closed down tight on occasion. As here built the 
house has no glass and will be greatly improved by hav- 
ing small 4- or 6-light sashes on each side. In addition, 
a muslin curtain for the open front will be found desirable 
in cold or stormy weather. 

A Nebraska Back- Yard Poultry House 

This house, designed by Professor F. E. Mussehl, 
head of the Poultry Department of the University of Ne- 
braska, is well planned for the small back-yard flock 
where all lumber is to be purchased. It can be built quite 
cheaply of second-hand lumber but will be only moderately 
expensive if built new. As shown on page 45 it is 



SOME PRACTICAL POULTRY HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 



47 



to be constructed of 6- or 8-inch ship-lap or, better still, 
of car siding, the boards being nailed on up and down. 
This house is on runners and is intended to be poi-table, 
and for that reason is built with a fairly substantial frame 




A WELI--PLANNED LAYING PEN 

Interior of two-pen house, exterior view of which Ls shown on light. Feed 
hopner and water vessel are on elevated platform. Note the. ceiled w;all back 
of the perches and overliead. There is a rear ventilator opening into the 
spaces Ijetween the rafters. Photo frnn' Inrliana Exp. Station 

as shown in the cross section. For back-yard use when 
the house is to be moved but seldom, it can be built with- 
out studs except at comers and on either side of windows 
and door. The front is 6 feet, 6 inches high, and tne 
back 4 feet, 6 inches. The floor may be either 6 by 8 
feet or 8 by 8 feet, the former size being large enough 
for about 12 fowls and the latter for 16. The arrange- 
ment of doors, windows, nests and perches is clearly in- 
dicated in the cross section and in the half-tone photo-en- 
graving of the completed house. The upper part of the 
window and the opening in the door are to be protected 
by means of muslin shutters. The shutter over the win- 
dow can be hinged to hook up against the rafters when not 
needed, or may be left loose so that it can be removed 
and hung up on the wall. The most convenient way to 
fix the shutter on the door is to hinge it at the bottom so 
that when not in use it will drop down out of he way. 

A Shed-Roof House with Outside Nests 

For general use the house shown herewith offers 
numerous advantages. It is usually built 6 by 8, 8 by 8 
or 8 by 10 feet, and is provided with a muslin-covered 
shutter so that a good degree of ventilation can be secured. 




Convenient outdoor nests are provided when laying fowls 
are to be housed. It can be built of comparatively low- 
grade lumber or second-hand boards, packing boxes, etc., 
and when covered with a good grade of prepared roofing 















■,r 


d 


^ 


K 








i 


m 


■i 


■■ 


■ 


■ 


1 


■ 



TWO-PEN MUSLIN-FRONT HOUSE FOR SMALL FLOCK 

Interior view of this house is .nhown in illustration at left. For average 
urie it is not desirable to have the windows come down 30_ near the floor, and 
in cold climates smaller muslin-eovered openings are advisable. Photo from 
Indiana Exp. Station. 

and stripped as here shown, will present a pleasing ap- 
pearance and will be more durable as well. Outside nests 
must be carefully constructed in order to keep them dry. 
The usual objection to such nests is that rain and snow 
get in around the cracks where the nests join the house. 
It is not a particularly difficult matter to make the nests 
storm proof, however, requiring only careful workmanship 
in constructing them. It is desirable to make them re- 
movable for cleaning and disinfecting. 

This house has a board floor, and it will be much 
stronger and more substantial if this is doubled, laying 
the subfloor diagonally and nailing it solidly to the joists. 
Over this place a layer of waterproof paper or a few thick- 
nesses of newspapers, and cover with a good grade of 
flooring, running the boards from front to back, rather 
than from side to side, which will facilitate cleaning. 
Houses of this sort are always much more conveniently 
moved if runner sills are used. 

A Two-Pen Laying House 

The laying house illustrated on this page is an excel- 
lent one where two flocks are to be kept. It may be built 
in any convenient size, though it is rarely desirable to 




PRACTICAL WALL NESTS FOR THE LAYING HOUSE, WITH 
HINGED FOOTBOARDS 
Photo from Maryland Exj^eriment Station. 



WALL NESTS WITH FOOTBOARDS R.USED, CLOSING NESTS- 
COMPARE WITH ILLUSTRATION ON LEFT 
Photo from Mar.^'Iand Experiment Station. 



43 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 



build it less than 12 feet deep. Wliere cold winters are 
the rule, rather smaller muslin-covered openings will 
prove more satisfactory and we do not regard it as desir- 







'••Sr'"»r'» 




CUNVEXIENT COOP FOR BROODY HENS IN I WING HOUSE 
Photo from Maryland Experiment Station. 

able to have the windows so close to the floor. All open- 
ings should be 18 inches to 2 feet above the floor as it is 
common experience that fowls in confinement are much 
better contented where they are not able to look out on 
the ground. The general arrangement of one pen 
is shown in interior view given on page 47. It 
will be noted that a droppings platform runs 
along the wall, one corner being occupied by a 
coop for broody hens and along the end of the 
house, or the partition, are placed feed hoppers 
and water vessels. The partition between the 
pens may be of muslin or duck, which will pre- 
vent drafts through the house and will entirely 
separate each pen from the other. The underside 
of the rafters is ceiled over the perches and there 
are narrow doors under the eaves communicating 
with the space between roof and ceiling. When 
these doors are open additional ventilation is 
provided which helps greatly in keeping the house 
cool in summer. Against the roof may be seen 
the cloth shutter provided for closing the large 
opening in the front when desired. 

The New Jersey Multiple Unit House 

When a large laying house is to be built, 
illustrated herewith will be found particularly desirable. feet in 



This is the New Jersey Multiple Unit Leying House and 
the following brief description of it is condensed from New 
Jersey Bulletin No. 32.5: 

"This type of house has been adopted extensively 
throughout New Jersey by commercial poultry keepers. 
The multiple unit idea is standardized as follows: One 
unit of this house is 20 feet wide and 20 feet 
deep, giving 400 square feet of floor space. The 
shed-roof construction is used and the house is 
so designed in all details that it will furnish an ideal 
environment. The front is so arranged that plenty of 
sunlight can be admitted and adequate means for ven- 
tilation are provided. Since it is usually desirable to 
maintain a larger flock than 100 birds, two or more units 
are generally built together. 

"The house here shown is a double unit and is 20 feet 
deep and 40 feet long. The sills are 4x6-inch material, 
posts 4x4, studs and plates 2x4, rafters 2x4, and the 
house is single boarded throughout on the ends and sides 
with novelty siding. The back is boarded up and down 
with yellow pine boards, tongued-and-grooved, and covered 
with paper to aid in keeping the house warm in cold 
weather. The roofing boards and all interior partitions, 
droppings boards and sheathing, are built of lx8-inch 
barn boards or ship-lap. 




CROSS SECTION OF STR.'iW-LOFT HOUSE FOR COLD CLIMATES 



the one 



The studs 
front. 




NEW .lERSEY MULTIPLE UNIT LAYING HOUSE 



Tliis house, hriefly described on this page, is well adapted to the requirement.=i of all poultry keep- 
ens who have good-sized laying flocks. Hood shades the fron* in hot weather and affords some protection 
from storms. Photo from N. J. Exp. St.ition. 



in rear wall are 4 feet, 6 inches and 9 
The house is provided with a 2-foot 
projection over the front to keep 
rains and storms from beating in at 
the windows. The back wall is pro- 
vided with rear ventilation, so ar- 
ranged that the air can enter just 
under the eaves and circulate between 
the rafters above the perches. In or- 
der to protect the birds on the perch- 
es, the rear part of the house from 
the droppings boards to the plate and 
from the plate to the rafters to a 
point over the front edge of the drop- 
pings boards is sheathed on the inside, 
thus making a sort of a protected 
roosting closet. 

"The house is divided every 20 
feet by a solid partition running from 
the back wall to within 6 feet of the 
front wall. In the center of this par- 
tition is located a large homemade 



SOME PRACTICAL POULTRY HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 



49 



dry mash hopper, and water vessels occupy elevat- 
ed platforms in the front of each section. A dust 
box is placed directly under the glass window at each 
end of the house. Each 20-foot section has in the center 
a muslin-covered opening 4 by 10 feet, equipped with two 

hinged curtains 4 
by 5 feet. At 
each side of the 
muslin opening 
there is a large 
glass sash 2 feet, 
3 inches wide 
and 5 feet high. 
One center win- 
dow in each dou- 
ble section is 
constructed i n 
the form of a 
combination door 
and window, op- 
ening clear to 
the sill." 

A House for Cold 
Climates 

In Cold cli- 
mates, particular- 
ly where Leg- 
horns are kept, 
it is highly im- 
portant to make 
the house as 
warm as is 
practicable, and 
under such con- 
ditions there 
probably is noth- 
ing better than 
the straw-loft 
plan. A cross 
section of such a 
house is present- 
ed on page 48, 
from which the 
construction can 
readily be under- 
stood. A straw 
loft can be 




DRIP. WATER SYSTE.M 

Where running water is available the system 
here illustrated will save a great deal of labor in 
watering the fowls. A is a eommcn gas eock ad- 
justed to drip into cup D. whieh is about 12 inches 
above the floor. B represents the wall of the 
building and C, outside feed pipe. Drinking cup 
overflows into 3-inch galvanized leader pipe (Ei 
which discharges outside the building, the over- 
flow drixjping into F which conducts it to the 
ground. Where the soil will not pronr-ptly absorb 
the water a gravel pit (Hj is provided. G repre- 
sents the ground level out.side and I the floor of 
the house. 

can be in- 
stalled in a shed-roof house, but the gable roof is much 
better adapted to the purpose. As here shown, the 
gable is filled with straw which not only prevents the 
radiation of heat through the roof but absorbs moisture 
and makes it possible to keep the house dry with a com- 
paratively limited circulation of air. The straw loft also 
keeps the house cooler in summer. This method of con- 
struction adds somewhat to the cost of building but con- 
tributes greatly to the comfort of the fowls. 

Another type of cold-climate house is illustrated on 
page 51. In this house warmth is secured by low roof, 
careful construction and correctly proportioned windows 
and muslin shutters. With the latter closed the house 
will be comparatively warm but is much more apt to be 
damp than a straw-loft house, particularly when the 
muslin is clogged with rain or when house is heavily 
stocked. For this reason the ventilation requires more 
frequent adjustment than in house shown on page 48. 




W.ATER PAN AND PLATFOR.M 



Needed Equipment for The Poultry House 

Suitable fixtures and equipment for the poultry house 
are a more important factor in the success of any poultry 

enterprise than is 
commonly realiz- 
ed. Whether the 
daily work of 
caring for the 
fowls is to be 
done easily and 
with comfort, or 
is to be a con- 
s t a n t bugbear, 
will be deter- 
mined quite 
largely by the 
facilities provid- 
ed. No doubt 
much money is 
wasted in the unwise choice of fixtures, but probably 
a great deal more is lost tlirough failure to se- 
cure what is really needed. Much has been said about 
the desirability of having the interior of the house simple 
and plain, but simplicity can be overdone. It is well to 
recall now and then that the house and its facilities are 
provided as much for the convenience of the caretaker as 
for the use of the fowls, and anything that will make the 
work easier should by all means be provided. Time and 
labor-saving equipment about the poultry plant is of first 
importance, especially where fowls are kept in large num- 
bers or when labor is employed. 

Fixtures in the poultry house, large or small, should 
include perches, droppings board, nests, water vessel and 
platform, dry mash hopper, compartment grit, shell and 
charcoal hopper, etc. Some provision should also be made 
for a holder for green feed, a trough for moist mashes 
and a dust bath for winter use. If feed is kept in the 
house there should be cans or bins for storing it. 

For the most part, the equipment of the poultry house 
should be light in weight and easily moved for cleaning. 




HOPPERS FOB DRV MASH, GRIT, SHELL, ETC. 

Hopper on left is for dry mash feeding and is provided with a piece of 
coarse screen wire cloth to prevtnt waste. Hopper on right is divided into 
four compartn.ents for grit, shell, etc., likewise pro\'ided with waste-prevent- 
ing wire "follower." 



50 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 



iVATSR STAA/O 





CORNKLL WATEU 
STAND 

The wator stand here 
shown is used and rnc- 
ommendod at Cornell 
University. It affords 
a Jiimple, ine.\per!sive 
aTid sanitary method 
of supplying water lor 
large Modes. 



This does not, as 
a rule, apply to 
droppings plat- 
forms and nest 
supports. These 
can be made mov- 
able, but it us- 
ually is better to 
fasten them per- 
manently in 
place. While 
it may be desir- 
able to be able 
to take 2very- 
tbing out of the 
house in the 
event of its be- 
coming infested vnth lice and mites, there is no practical 
advantage in making elaborate and troublesome prepara- 
tions for meeting a condition that never need be encoun- 
tered if reasonable care is taken. 

Arrangement of Perches, Platform and Nests 

The interior of the laying house illustrated on page 
47 shows a method of installing perches, platform and 
nests that is quite popular. The perches are supported 
on hinges at the rear so that they can be raised up for 
convenience in cleaning the platform. Use 2 by 3-inch 
material for the perches, if not over 10 feet in length, 
and 2 by 4 inches when longer. The supporting pieces 
may be 1 by 4 inches with notches for the perches cut 
1 to 1% inches deep. Where platform nests are not de- 
sired, wall nests can readily be provided. There are va- 
rious types of these, but the nests shown on page 47 are 
particularly convenient. 

Feed Hoppers 

For use with large flocks it is important to have hop- 
pers of good size. The one illustrated is a desirable type, 
being easily made and waste preventing in a large meas- 
ure, and the size of hopper and number of compartments 
may be adapted to requirements. Hopper on left has a 
single compartment and in this form is suitable for dry 
mash feeding, the waste-preventing wire cloth being loose 
except at the upper side so that it will follow the mash 
down as the fowls consume it. The hopper on the right 
has several compartments for grit, shell, etc., and is 
likewise provided with a wire-cloth cover over the feed 
trough to prevent the fowls from throwing out the con- 
tents. Another good hopper for dry mash is shown in 

cross section on 
this page, the il- 
lustration mak- 
ing its construc- 
tion so clear that 
no particular de- 
scription is re- 
quired. In most 
cases, however, a 
sloping top will 
be found more 
satisfactory than 
one on which the 

fowls can perch. 
SLATTED FEED PROTECTOR tj; -i ■ j j 

If it IS found 

May be used for feed trough, water ve.osel or +1,0+ foorl io 

for holding green feed. ^"'^^ ^®^° "^ 




wasted with the hopper in its present form, use a strip 
of wire cloth or one-inch poultry netting over the feed. 

Water Vessel and Support 

For flocks of good size, galvanized pails usually 
are preferred for supplying water. These should be sup- 
ported on a platform at least 18 inches above the floor and 
wide enough all around to allow the fowls to stand com- 
fortably and drink from all sides. A method of building 
such a platform is illustrated herewith. The unsanitary 
practice of placing the water vessel directly on the floor 
is objectionable, as the water is always more or less con- 
taminated by litter and droppings. The platform here 
shown will elevate the pail high enough to prevent litter 
from being scratched into it, and it can be easily and 
cheaply provided. For a small flock any convenient metal 
or earthenware vessel may be used, placing it on a slatted 
platform as illustrated on page 49. 

Drip-Water System 

Where running water is available, various methods of 
utilizing it to save time and labor have been devised. 
Professor Dough- 
erty of the Cali- 
fornia Experi- 
ment Station, 
writes as follows 
in regard to the 
system in use at 
that institution 
— see illustration 
on page 49. 

"We use the 
continuous drip 
system for in- 
door pens. An 
automatic gas 
cock is screwed 
onto the end of 
the feed pipe and 
adjusted so that 
it will drip at a 
moderate rate in- 
to the drinking 
cup which is 
placed below it. 
This cup is of 
pressed galvaniz- 
ed steel, made 
with lugs at the top which hold it in . position in the 
top of a three-inch galvanized leader elbow. The top of the 
cup is 12 inches above the floor of the house. Fowls can 
easily drink from the floor, yet the cup is high enough so 
that little litter is scratched in. Cup is rinsed once each 
day. It overflows into the three-inch leader elbow which 
conducts the waste water outdoors where it drops into a 
box in the ground. If the ground does not absorb the waste 
water readily, as may be the case in heavy soils, a small 
gravel pit should be provided at the foot of the box. Our 
drip system is inexpensive in operation, and the water is 
always fresh." 

Most of the equipment here illustrated is homemade, 
but unless the poultry keeper is skillful in the use of 
tools and has plenty of spare time he will find that regu- 
lar manufactured articles are better adapted to his use 
and, in the long run, more economical. 




CROSS SECTION OF FEED HOPPER 

Thi.s diagram suggests a practical way of 
constructing ,1 feed hoppc* for either dry mash or 
grain. The lip at the lower part of the hopper 
helps to prevent waste. Usually the hopper will 
l)e more satisfactory if hailt witli a sloping top so 
that fowls cannot perch on it. 



CHAPTER A 1 I I 



Feeding the Back- Yard Laying Flock 

Herewith Are Outlined Practical Methods of Feeding Adapted to the Requirements of Back-Lotters Generally— 

Relative Merits of Different Feedstuffs and How to Combine Them in Satisfactory and Economical 

Rations How Feeding Methods Can Be Simplified Without Sacrificing Results 




HE FEEDING of fowls can be made a compar- 
atively simple matter and beginners, especially, 
are apt to find that, as a rule, they get best re- 
sults with plain, easily followed methods and 
uncomplicated rations. Obviously, every poul- 
try keeper should try to be well informed on the relative 
values of the different grains and other feeds available 
for his use. This knowledge is not acquired without per- 
sistent study, and ability to make practical application of 
it comes only through experience. Fortunately, however, 
the beginner has a short cut to correct feeding through 
the use of ready-mixed feeds, by means of which he is 
assured of a good degree of succes.s practically from the 
start. With only the best interests of the beginner in 
mind it may be said that his easiest and safest plan is 
to use standard brands of commercial scratch grains and 
mash, feeding these exclusively and according to the 
directions of the manufacturer. 

Such rations contain a good assortment of grains 
giving needed variety, the grain and mash mixtures to- 
gether supplying the different required nutrients in proper 
proportion — the "balanced ration" — and the average be- 
ginner will find them both cheaper and better than any 
mixtures that he is likely to make up himself. The aver- 
age feed store that attempts to carry a good assortment 
of grains is compelled to charge comparatively high prices 
for everything outside the common or locally obtainable 
feeds. This is not "profiteering," but is the inevitable 
result of buying in small quantities and often in unfavor- 
able markets. The back-yard feeder, with only a few 
fowls, who attempts to make up a reasonably varied ration 
from the supplies available at the local feed store thus 
finds that his mixtures not only cost him too much, but 
that he frequently has to use inferior grades. 

As compared with average home mixtures, commer- 
cial feeds are better because the manufacturer, operating 
at an important grain center, can get better grades of 




grain at a given price than local feed dealers. He has 
no difiiculty in securing suitable variety, can compound 
his rations according to the most approved and thoroughly 
tested formulas, and has the machinery for proper prepar- 
ation and mixing. For home mixing there must be a 




PRACTICAT-, LOW-COST HOUSE BUILT OF ROUGH LUMBER AND 
COVERED WITH PREPARED ROOFING 



A COMFORTABLE COLONY HOUSE FOR COLD CLIMATES 
Photo from Central Experimental Farms. Dept. of Agriculture, Canada. 

thorough understanding of the feeding question and there 
must be careful and e.xact attention to proportions and to 
thorough blending. These are by no means impossible 
conditions to meet, but in practice great numbers of poul- 
try keepers have proved to their complete satisfaction 
that they regularly get better results with less effort 
and expense where they depend entirely upon ready- 
mixed feeds. 

Of course, all commercial feeds are not equally desir- 
able. Some manufacturers, in attempting to make extra- 
low prices, use inferior grains or formulas, in particular 
employing too large a proportion of by-products, thus 
supplying too much bulk or indigestible crude fibre. It 
is not a difficult matter for the buyer to detect such ob- 
jectionable brands. There are a number of reputable 
manufacturers whose products can be used with entire 
confidence in their uniform quality and nutritive values. 
In buying, let quality instead of price be the controlling 
factor. With mixed grains fed in the litter in the morn- 
ing and again at night, and with mash fed dry in a hopper 
to which the fowls have access at all times, the flock will 
be reasonably well provided for day in and day out with- 
out giving any further thought to the subject. Many back- 
yard poultry keepers follow this practice the year around, 
and with good results. One objection to this method, how- 
ever, is that it makes no provision for the utilization of 
kitchen waste. 

How to Feed Kitchen Scraps 

The average back-yard poultry keeper finds that the 
scraps from his table may be made to form a good part 



52 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 



of the ration required for his flocl<, especially when prop- 
erly fed. A large part of the value of table scraps is 
wasted, however, as these usually are supplied. Fowls 
have great difficulty in reducing large pieces to a size 
suitable for swallowing, and after they have dragged a 
crust or a piece of meat trimming about for some time 
trying to tear it to pieces, they are apt to become dis- 
gusted with the dirt accumulated on it and abandon the 
attempt to eat it.- 

The feeding value of scraps is largely increased by 
running them through a food chopper — the easiest and 
best way to put them in edible condition. Parings, veg- 
etables and meat trimmings — anything in fact that is not 
small enough to be swallowed easily by the fowls — should 
be prepared in this way. Such material mixed with 
enough mash or corn meal to take up the excess moisture 




HOW BRAN TAKES THE PLACE OF GREEN TEED 



Fowls coiinncd to this run had unliniited bi-an and required less green feed, 
did not keep the oaty in their run (?atcn down as did the fowls in the run illus 
l^hoto from Maryland Exp. Station 

makes a most appetizing feed and one that is highly nu- 
tritious as well. Do not feed scraps in a sloppy condi- 
tion, either chopped or whole, and never throw them on 
the floor of the house or in the yard. This is not only 
wasteful, but they soil the litter and make the yard sour 
and foul smelling. This practice also results in fowls eat- 
ing much fllth and dirt which affects their appetites and 
sometimes causes sickness. When green stuff and sloppy 
materials form a large proportion of the kitchen scraps, 
it is not wise to feed them too freely. The fowls need a 
good proportion of their ration in the form of hard grain, 
and it is better to select the best of the scraps and other- 
wise dispose of the remainder, rather than to risk the 
health of the fowls by feeding- an excess of such material 
just to "save" it. 

Probably the simplest manner in which table scraps 
can be fed, if they are not run through a food chopper, 
is to have a trough or narrow box of suitable size in which 
all waste may be placed. Provide a loose wire screen or 
"follower," fitting inside the receptacle, which will per- 
mit the fowls to pick at the material freely without be- 
ing able to throw it out and scatter it over the yard or 
pen floor. This holder should be emptied and thoroughly 
cleaned once a day, and anv material that the fowls can- 
not dispose of should be placed in the garbage or burned. 

Kitchen scraps are often used as the basis of a moist 
mash to be fed regularly once a day. Some experienced 



feeders are opposed to the moist mash and, doubtless, 
harm is done by feeding it in a careless or indifferent 
manner. Nevertheless, if the back-yard fiock is to be fed 
economically and the kitchen scraps utilized to the best 
advantage, there is no escape from feeding moist mashes 
and the beginner may as well accept this fact and learn 
how to do it right. -. 

Starting in the morning, the first feed should always 
be a liberal allowance of scratch grains. At noon, feed 
kitchen waste consisting of all such material at hand that 
is edible and in a wholesome condition. After this is run 
through the food chopper add to it a quantity of good 
commercial mash mixture sufficient to give the fowls all 
they will eat in 15 to 20 minutes. If there is not enough 
moisture in the waste to make a mash of the proper con- 
sistency (crumbly wet but not sticky 
or pasty) use sour milk or waste- 
liquids of any sort that may be on 
hand. Feed this mash in a trough so 
constructed that the fowls cannot get 
into it with their feet, and let them 
have all they will clean up. If there 
is any surplus it should be removed 
and not permitted to freeze in the 
trough in winter, or ferment and sour 
in warm weather. 

In the evening it is best to feed 
whole or cracked grains, giving all 
the fowls will clean up so that they 
may go onto the perches with full 
crops. However, if a surplus of nu- 
tritious table scraps is left from the 
noon meal, a second feed may be giv- 
en early in the evening, just as it 
comes from the food chopper or, if 
too moist to feed in this way, it may 
be mixed with a sufficient quantity of 
the dry mash mixture to take up the 
surplus moisture. Do not depend upon scraps or mash fo? 
the entire evening feed, however, especially in cold weath- 
er, but give the fowls some whole grain the last thing be- 
fore they go to roost. 

Dry Mash or Moist 

There can scarcely be any question as to the desir- 
ability of providing the fowls with a good dry mash, 
supplied in a suitable waste-preventing hopper to which 
they have access at all times. Whether the mash feed- 
ing should be limited to this or should also include a 
regular daily feed of moist mash as well, will depend 
upon various conditions. It is safe to say, however, that 
the beginner who feeds carefully will get better produc- 
tion by following the latter course than by depending en- 
tirely upon dry mash. The only practical objection to 
moist mash feeding for the back-yard flock is the fact that 
the caretaker often cannot be at home to give it at the 
desired time. If this cannot be arranged for it will 
be necessary to depend entirely upon the dry mash, in 
this case taking particular pains to secure one that will 
be genuinely palatable to the fowls. 

When Should the Moist Mash Be Fed 

There is scarcely an hour in the day that has not 
been recommended by some one as just the right time for 
feeding the mash. Every such recommendation, as a 



as a result of whirh they 
trated on opposite page. 



FEEDING THE BACK-YARD LAYING FLOCK 



53 



rule, is based on the fact that the mash has been so fed 
with good results, which seems to be reason enough for 
doing it that way — until some one else demonstrates that 
equally good results can be secured by feeding at some 
other hour. As a matter of fact, it is immaterial when 
the mash is fed, provided it is fed right. There are, 
however, practical reasons why it is more difficult to feed 
it properly when given at certain times of the day than 
at others. If the mash is looked upon simply as an ap- 
petizer and the quantity is limited to a light feed, with 
dry mash before the fowls all the time in hoppers, it can 
safely be given whenever it best suits the convenience of 
the caretaker. When the fowls are to have all the moist 
mash they will eat, most practical feeders prefer to give 
it about the middle of the day. 

It is common knowledge that fowls that are heavily 
fed on a rich moist mash generally will huddle in corners 
and remain comparatively inactive for hours, which is 
distinctly to their disadvantage if this 
occurs during the early part of the 
day. If the mash is fed about noon, 
however, after the fowls have spent 
most of the forenoon actively scratch- 
ing for grain in the litter, a few quiet 
hours then should do no harm and, 
being easily digested, the mash will 
be out of the way before the evening 
meal when it is desirable for the 
fowls to have a full feed of whole 
grain. This is particularly important 
in cold weather when the nights are 
long and when, without a substantial 
evening feed, the fowls will become 
uncomfortably hungry long before 
morning. It is chiefly for such rea- 
sons as these that the average poul- 
try keeper gets best results when the 
mash is fed at noon. If there is any 
reason why it is not convenient to 
feed it at that time then another 

hour must be selected, properly adapting the balance of 
the ration to the change. 

Does it Pay to Give Warm Feeds 

The argument for warm feed rests chiefly, if not 
solely, upon the fact that THE FOWLS LIKE IT. And 
those who are trying to secure the best possible results 
from their fowls hardly need be told that an important 
means to that end is to give them what they want in or- 
der to make them comfortable and contented. One of the 
most important factors in getting eggs in cold weather 
is appetizing feed and plenty of it. Probably no one has 
ever proved that warm feeds at night or any other time 
in cold weather directly bring about an increase in pro- 
duction, but it is hardly necessary to furnish proof that 
fowls that are well cared for, whose preferences are con- 
sulted, and whose appetites are stimulated at this season 
of the year, will give better results than those that are 
fed in a routine manner, getting nothing but dry, cold 
feed. Moist mashes, in particular, should always be mixed 
with hot water in cold weather, in order to prevent their 
freezing in the trough before the fowls have satisfied 
their hunger. No good purpose is served by having the 
fowls fill up on cold or half-frozen mash mixtures. 

The poultry keeper who has large flocks probably 
cannot take the extra time and trouble required in thus 
humoring his fowls, but the back-yard poultry keeper 



with only a few birds can well afford to do this. It may 
not be advisable to make warm feeds a regular feature, 
but when the thermometer drops extremely low, when 
the fowls appear uncomfortable and with little appetite, 
then the effect of a warm feed made appetizing by the 
addition of some choice table scraps, and seasoned mild- 
ly with salt and pepper, is excellent. An evening feed 
that always is popular with hens on a cold night is 
cracked or shelled corn, thoroughly heated on the stove 
or in the oven, with a little meat, suet, or something sim- 
ilar added to flavor it. It is never advisable to give feeds 
that are piping hot, particularly mashes. They should be 
only pleasantly warm when placed before the hens. 

How Many Daily Feeds 

The beginner is apt to be too greatly concerned about 
the number of feeds his birds should have, and when they 
should be given. As a matter of fact, fowls are highly 




DOES IT PAY TO SUBSTITUTE BRAN FOR GREEN FEED 

Hpiis kept in pen illustrated above had no bran in their ration and made up for the lack by eating 
everything green in their run. Green feed is a cheaper source of bulk than bran- Compare with illus- 
tration on opposite page. Photo from Maryland Exp, Station. 

adaptable in this respect, and within reasonable limits the 
poultry keeper can adopt methods of feeding quite large- 
ly to suit his own convenience. This means that those who 
find it inconvenient to follow the usual three-feeds-a-day 
method can introduce whatever changes they find neces- 
sary, giving only two feeds a day, or one, or they may 
hopper-feed exclusively, provided they adapt the ration 
to their method, and provided also that whatever method 
is adopte.! is uniformly adhered to. That is, it will not 
do to feed three times one day, twice the next, and on 
the following day four times, or none at all. 

The most common method is to g-ve three feeds a 
day, and under ordinary conditions this really seems to 
suit the hens best. It makes it possible to keep them busy 
a good part of the day hunting in the litter for the grain 
part of their ration; it permits utilizing the table scraps 
in a warm moist feed about the middle of the day; and 
the fowls can be sent to roost at night with crops full 
of hard grain. 

The back-yard poultry keeper, however, who leaves 
for his work before daylight during the winter months, 
and possibly does not return until after dark, cannot 
practice this method and may find it necessary to give the 
entire day's supply of grain at one time — night or morn- 
ing. It is entirely practical to do this if plenty of litter 
is used and the grain feed buried in it. 



54 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 



How Much to Feed 



One of the most common questions of the beginner 
is "How much shall I feed my hens?" The usual answer 
that "no set rule can be given, as their requirements vai-y 
greatly under different conditions," does not afford him 
much comfort. Presumably he already knows that, but 




LAWN CLIPPINGS ALIKE EXCELLENT CHEEK FEED FOR FOWLS 
AT ALL AGES 

having no guide whatever in personal experience he needs 
some standard of comparison by which he can determine 
approximate requirements. He finds this especially desir- 
able after his anxiety has been aroused by repeated warn- 
ings against overfeeding and overfattening — both real 
dangers, under some conditions. 

The quantity of feed required by a fowl at any given 
time depends upon the breed to which it belongs, whether 
it is full grown, whether it is producing eggs, whether it 
is in poor condition or well fattened, also upon the season, 
as all fowls require more feed in extremely cold weather 
than in warm. It also appears to be governed by condi- 
tions as yet not understood. For example, in experiment- 
al work the writer has found individual variations of as 
much as 50 per cent in comparing one week's consumption 
with that of the following week, with 
all known conditions identical. 

Heavy-laying hens naturally will 
consume .somewhat larger quantities 
of feed than ordinary producers. The 
Leghorn hens durfng the first five 
years of the Storrs Laying Contest, 
vrith an average yearly production of 
161.8 eggs, each consumed 3.64 ounces 
of feed daily. During the same 
period the Plymouth Rock hens in the 
contest, with an average production 
of 153.4 eggs, averaged to consume 
4.25 ounces of feed daily. At the 
Vineland Contest (third year) the 
average feed consumption of Leg- 
horns was 3.5 ounces (average egg 
yield 188) and of Plymouth Rocks, 
3.93 ounces (average egg yield 169.2). 
A safe general rule to follow is to 
give a half-feed of grain in the morn- 
ing, keep dry mash before them dur- 



ing the day and give all they want of cracked grains at 
night. In addition, pullets or extra heavy laying fowls may 
have all of a good, bulky moist mash that they will clean 
up promptly at noon. 

Warm-Weather Feeding 

The back-yard poultry keeper who has a flock of lay- 
ing fowls will not find the daily care of them in summer 
particularly different from wintertime requirements, aside 
from the fact that the work will be less exacting, and the 
returns often much more encouraging. At this season of 
the year fowls that are reasonably well fed are pretty 
certain to lay well under almost any condition. Assuni- 
ing that the winter ration has carried an extra-liberal 
proportion of corn, the approach of warmer weather will 
be the signal to reduce this grain, substituting feeding 
wheat or wheat screenings, also oats, preferably soaked. 

At this time of the year the health of fowls in con- 
finement is quite apt to be at a low average, as the result 
of various long-continued irregularities in feeding and 
management. Plenty of succulent green feed is one of 
the best conditioners, and where digestive disorders are 
present, granulated charcoal should be kept before the 
fowls. If the kitchen waste does not afford a sufficient 
supply of green feed, the best way to provide it is in the 
form of sprouted oats. These can be produced in a small 
way in a pan kept in a'warm place in the kitchen or in 
the furnace room, but a much more practical and con- 
venient way is to secure a small-sized oats sprouter with 
independent source of heat, so that a regular supply will 
be available. After the grass gets a start it is an ex- 
cellent plan to allow the fowls to run out on the lawn 
for an hour or so in the morning or at any other time of 
the day when they can be watched and prevented from 
doing any injury. The lawn can be made an important 
source of green feed if the fowls are handled in this way, 
or if the grass is cut vrith a lawn mower and given to 
them regularly. 

How to Reduce Cost of the Poultry Ration 

There are both direct and indirect ways of reducing 
the cost of feeding fowls. Among the former may be 
mentioned: careful buying, wise selection of feeds, 
economical feeding, and utilizing homegrown green feed 




JKPLUS LAWN CLIPPINGS SHOULD BE DRIED AND STORED FOR WINTER USE 



To the right is shown green gras.'i just after it is mowed and to the left is shown a pile of dried grass 
ready to be packed away in barrels for winter feeding. Properly cured, this materia! will retain its color 
and will keep without molding. When thoroughly steamed it Is greatly roHshed by the fowls as a winter 
green feed. 



FEEDING THE BACK-YARD LAYING FLOCK 



55 



in place of grain. The average small-scale poultry keeper 
buys his feed in small quantities, and pays dearly for the 
privilege. Even if no more than ten or twelve fowls are 
kept it will pay to buy everything, with the possible ex- 
ception of meat scrap, oyster shell, etc., in 100-pound 
bags. Practically all dealers give an important discount 
over retail price in such quantities, and a reduction of 10 
to 15 per cent in the feed bill can readily be effected in 
this way. 

In most cases the cheapest and most satisfactory way 
to store feed is in galvanized iron garbage or ash cans 
with covers, selecting a size that will be large enough to 
hold the contents of a 100-pound bag. For the meat 
scrap and other special feeds that are purchased in less 
than 100-pound lots get smaller cans of the same sort. 
If these are blocked up off the floor so that the bottoms 
do not rust out they will last many years and will save 
their cost several times over. 

By wise selection of feeds is meant buying such 
as the fowls will eat readily, and that give the maximum 
of nutrition for the money invested. Do not buy expensive 
grains if something cheaper is available, and do not be 
slavishly bound to any special feeding formula. Watch 
the price of standard grains, learn 
their nutritive values, and use most 
freely the kind that gives the best 
value for the money. However, in 
trying to economize do not be gov- 
erned too much by the price per 
bushel or pound. Remember that 
fowls cannot digest crude fibre at all 
and that bulky, trashy feed may cost 
a great deal more in the long run 
than a better grade. 

By more economic feeding is 
meant feeding well-balanced rations, 
and in correct quantity. With poorly 
balanced rations it may take five 
pounds to give the fowls as much of 
some essential nutritive element (pro- 
tein for example) as would be secured 
in four pounds of a better-balanced 
ration costing no more per pound. 
Overfeeding is not a common source 
of loss in the poultry yard, but it 
sometimes occurs nevertheless. The 
results of overfeeding are wasted grain and the overfatten- 
ing of fowls. With hens in good production there is little 
danger of overfeeding, but there is danger of supplying 
an excess of scratch grains resulting in failure to consume 
the less palatable but nutritious parts of the ration. 

Waste of dry mash at the hopper is a common source 
of loss. This may be due to defective construction in the 
hopper or to the use of a poorly proportioned mixture 
that tempts the hens to keep picking at it and throwing 
out the less palatable part to get at something they par- 
ticularly want. Such waste in the aggregate may amount 
to a considerable sum, and it is altogether unnecessary. 
Often a slight change can be made in the hopper that will 
stop it. If not, there are plenty of other hoppers on the 
market that are satisfactory in this respect. 

About the worst possible way to try to reduce the 
feed cost is by skimping on quantity. The fowls require 
a certain amount for maintenance and that much at least 



the poultry keeper must provide, regardless of cost. Hav- 
ing done that, only a little more is needed to supply the 
additional amount required for egg production or normal 
growth, and it is true economy to supply it. 

Green feed is more than a relish for fowls. It supplies 
various nutritive elements in a highly digestible form, 
and if freely supplied will materially reduce the amount 
of grain required. Under ordinary conditions no poultry 
feeder has gone his limit in reducing feed costs until he 
has made provision for an abundant supply of succulent 
green feed. 

The foregoing "direct" ways of reducing the cost of 
the ration are all practical and worth while, but the great- 
est saving can be made by "indirect" methods, by which 
are meant those that reduce the cost per pound of flesh 
gained or per dozen eggs laid, doing so by securing a high- 
er degree of efficiency in the flock. After all, what the 
poultry keeper really is interested in is not reducing the 
amount he pays out for feed, but increasing the per- 
centage of profit that he realizes from the feed supplied. 
As a rule, the poultry keepers who have the largest net 
income per hen usually have the highest feed bills. The 
greater profit is made possible by the higher average of 




YARDS SHOULD BE UTILIZED IN GIlOW ING GliLL.N CItOI .^ WHENEVER POSSIBLE 



The luxuriant growth 
produced in a small space. 



of corn in the yards in above illustration shown how much green feed can be 
Growing crops also provide shade and purify the soil- 

production secured. By all means save on the cost of feed 
wherever possible, but beware of economies that mean 
lower cost per fowl and greater cost in production. 

Qualities of Different Feeds 

The poultry keeper who for any reason prefers to 
make his own grain and mash mixtures needs to have a 
fairly comprehensive knowledge of the relative values of 
the different grains and other feedstuffs available for his 
use. It is not possible within the limits of this book to 
go into detail in regard to this, but the interested reader 
will find "How to Feed Poultry for Any Purpose with 
Profit" (published by Reliable Poultry Journal Publishing 
Company — see page 104) a source of complete and authen- 
tic information on this subject. The following brief 
suggestions on the different poultry feeds in common use 
are given that the beginner may have a fair working 
knowledge of the subject, thus to enable him to supplement 



56 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 



ready-mixed rations when necessary or desirable, and to 
make up home mixtures for emergency use. 

Special attention should be given by the beginner to 
\ariety in feeding, a matter of decided importance in 
getting maximum results either in growth or production. 
Il is not necessary to go to extremes in this respect, 
but it is not reasonable to expect that either chicks or 
fowls will have the keen appetites which are demanded 
for best results in either growth or egg production unless 
reasonable variety is provided. The beginner should 
also understand that while there are some feedstuffs that 
every practical poultry feeder prefers to use because ex- 
perience has demonstrated their value, there is none so 
essential that it must be secured regardless of cost. On 
the contrary, any disproportionate increase in the cost 
of a given grain should be the signal for promptly re- 
ducing its percentage in the ration, or for omitting it 
entirely, substituting the next best thing available at 
more reasonable cost. 

Corn is by all odds the most valuable grain that the 
average poultryman can feed and, as a rule, the cheapest. 

For the back- 
yard, flock com 
should always be 
cracked, except 
in the evening 
feed in extreme- 
ly cold weather, 
when whole 
grains may be 
safely fed. The 
objection to 
whole corn is 
based upon the 
fact that the ker- 
nels are too eas- 
ily found and the 
fowls have prac- 
tically no need to 
scratch for it — 
a serious objec- 
tion indeed, in 
the care of close- 
ly confined flocks. 
It is probably the 
most completely digested of any of the grains fed to fowls 
and owing to the high percentage of fat or oil which it con- 
tains, is excellent for winter feeding. If sufficient atten- 
tion is given to the fowls' exercise, it may safely form 
a considerable part of the grain ration even in summer. 

Com is generally regarded as a highly fattening 
grain. Some of its value in, this respect, no doubt, is 
due to the readiness with which fowls can satisfy their 
appetites on the large, readily seen kernels, but the com- 
paratively high percentage of oil and the extra palata- 
bility and digestibility of the grains doubtless has a direct 
bearing upon this fact. Whatever the explanation may 
be, the beginner should realize that its free use in warm 
weather is attended with some danger, and since cracked 
corn frequently is almost as expensive as wheat, the safe 
plan is to use the latter grain freely if price rhakes it 
practical to do so. Wheat is low in fat and the kernels 
are small and readily buried in litter so that much more 
effort is required of the fowls in getting their share of 
the dailv allowance. 




LOW-COST DRY MASH OR GRAIN HOPPER 



Wheat. While experiments show that fowls usually 
will do better on corn than on wheat when limited to a 
single grain, many poultry keepers depend quite largely 
upon the latter, particularly in sections where but little 
corn is raised. At the present time comparatively little 
good milling wheat is fed, screenings and "feeding wheat" 
being used instead. Apparently, wheat that is shrunken 
or below milling grade for some other reason, even if 
slightly damaged, is quite satisfactory for feeding, but 
the poultry keeper should bear in mind that damaged 
grains of any kind must be fed with care. Fowls are 
highly susceptible to digestive disorders resulting from 
mold or fermentation and where there is any evidence of 
this in the grains fed, the proportion used should be 
quite limited. 

Oats have always been a favorite grain with poultry 
feeders, particularly where the grains are plump and 
heavy. They carry a high percentage of crude fiber, 
however, and their feeding value, pound to pound, is lower 
than either corn or wheat. In the dry state they should 
not be fed too heavily, as the sharp points and excess of 
fiber cause serious trouble at times. The beginner is apt 
to conclude that since oats usually can be purchased. at 
a much lower price per bushel than either corn or wheat, 
it is economy to substitute them for the more expensive 
grains, failing to take into consideration the difference 
in nutritive values due to the greater percentage of crude 
fiber, which has no feeding value for fowls. 

In order accurately to compare the feeding value of 
different grains, the weights of their nutritive elements 
alone should be considered. For illustration, in 100 lbs. 
of oats there are 76.5 lbs. of nutrients (fiber, ash and 
water free) as compared with 85.7 lbs in shelled com, 
and 85.9 in wheat. Making the comparison on the basis 
of the bushel, there are 24.5 lbs. of fiber, ash, and water- 
free nutrients in one bushel (32 lbs.) of oats, 48 lbs. in 
one bushel (56 lbs.) of com, and 52 lbs. in a bushel of 
wheat. If 100 lbs. of corn are worth $3.00, then 100 lbs. 
of oats are worth $2,678, and 100 lbs. of wheat will be 
worth $2,995. Or, if corn is worth $1.50 a bushel, oats 
would be worth 76.6c per bushel and wheat $1.62. There 
may possibly be a slight difference in the digestibility of 
the nutrients in these grains, but it is not probable that 
it is material, and there is not sufficient definite informa- 
tion on this subject to make a practical comparison on 
this basis. 

Keeping these relative values clearly in mind the 
poultry feeder should have no difficulty in determining 
when he can feed oats to advantage. The preceding com- 
parisons have been on the basis of 32-pound oats. Where 
extra-heavy oats are obtainable their value in comparison 
with corn and wheat will be greater, pound for pound, 
and that of light, chaffy oats containing a much higher 
percentage of fiber will be less. In actual feeding, oats 
are at a further disadvantage, due to the fact that wRile 
a limited amount of crude fiber is an essential part of 
the ration, the percentage must be much lower than in 
the rations of any other of our domestic animals. About 
4 per cent for the entire ration seems to be most desir- 
able and when the proportion noticeably exceeds this it 
is apt to result in decreased production, and acute in- 
testinal disorders. 

Fowls can handle a much higher percentage of the 
crude fiber in oats if the grains are thoroughly softened. 
It is for this reason that boiling and soaking are so 
highly recommended. It has been found that where oats 



FEEDING THE BACK-YARD LAYING FLOCK 



57 



are prepared in this way, or by sprouting, they can be 
fed in almost any quantity desired without injurious re- 
sults. It is not certain that such preparation adds to the 
digestibility of the grain (though it probably does so in 
the case of sprouted oats), but unquestionably it makes 
the grain much more palatable to the fowls, prevents dan- 
ger of injury through the sharp points penetrating the 
comparatively thin membrane of the crop, and greatly 
reduces the irritating effect of the husk upon the intes- 
tines. 

Other Grains. The three grains just mentioned should 
form the bulk of all grain mixtures except where there 
are special reasons for introducing other less commonly 
used grains. There are many others, however, that can 
safely be fed to fowls in liberal proportion, and where 
price makes it an object to do so these may largely re- 
place corn, wheat or oats. Barley, rye, buckwheat, 
kafir, milo, peas, sorghum seed, etc., are all eaten more 
or less readily by fowls, but the back-yard poultry keep- 
er will rarely find it to his advantage to purchase these 
grains at the feed stores. Sufficient variety for all pur- 
poses is provided in a mixture of corn, wheat and oats, 
and there is no special advantage in adding any of the 
other grains mentioned unless price makes it an object 
to do so. In no case should any at- 
tempt be made to force the fowls to 
eat any grain that they do not want, 
simply because it is a little lower in 
price than something else. The sav- 
ing that will result from this policy 
will fall far short of offsetting the 
slower growth or reduced production 
that is practically certain to result. 

Ingredients of the Mash 

The mash part of the ration af- 
fords the poultry keeper's best means 
of balancing the nutritive ratio and. 
as a rule, makes it possible to reduce 
the cost of the feeding through the 
use of various by-products. It is gen- 
erally assumed that the mash and 
grain should be fed in about equal 
proportions. Where growth or egg 
production is to be stimulated, how- 
ever, the skillful feeder may consid- 
ably increase the proportion of mash. 
This is done either by feeding moist 
mashes, or by decreasing the amount 

of grain fed thus forcing greater consumption of dry mash. 
Where either practice is followed, however, due care must 
be taken that the right kind of mash is fed and the health 
of the birds should be closely watched. The beginner 
will do well to stick to the conservative 50-50 ratio, and 
in case of doubt to increase the grain part of the ration 
rather than the mash. To do this may result in slightly 
lower production but there will be less risk of unfavor- 
ably affecting the health of the fowls. 

Bran. In most cases bran is the starting point for the 
mash formula, not because of its feeding value, which is 
considered lower than some other feedstuffs, but because 
it has an excellent effect upon the digestion, helps to 
give the mash mixture the proper consistency, affords nec- 
essary bulk, and also contains a relatively high percent- 
age of minerals which are essential to health and produc- 
tion. Because of its comparatively low feeding value, 
bran is not a particularly economical feed, and the per- 



centage to be used is determined chiefly by the amount 
needed to put the mash mixture in proper mechanical 
condition for feeding, either dry or moist. As a rule, 
not over twenty-five per cent (by weight) of bran is used 
in the laying mash. 

White Middlings are much more nutritious than bran 
;ind more palatable as well, and usually are added to the 
mash in about the same proportion as bran. It is sel- 
dom practical to use a larger quantity than this, owing 
to their tendency to make the mash sticky and pasty, in 
which condition it is not readily eaten. In proper propor- 
tion, however, middlings are a desirable addition to the 
mixture and should not be omitted unless unobtainable or 
too high in price. There is some confusion in different parts 
of the countcy as to the meaning of the term "middlings,"' 
but what is here meant by "white middlings" is a by-pro- 
duct in the manufacture of flour, not quite as fine or as 
white as low-grade flour or red dog, but with much less 
bran than "shorts" or "brown middlings." 

Com Meal is almost invariably an ingredient of the 
mash. It increases palatability and, being low in crude 
fiber, its use is especially recommended where the mix- 
ture otherwise would be too bulky. It also helps to coun- 
teract the pastiness of a mash rich in middlings. A 




-A. CROP OF MANGELS GROWN FOR WINTER GREEN FEED 

Mangph are highly popular among poultry keepers for winter feeding. They arc easy to grow unti 
:ire enormou.sly productive on fertile soil. With proper handling they will keep in good condition through- 
out the entire winter in caves or vegetable cellars, but must not be exposed to freezing temperature. 



practical objection to using much corn meal is the fact 
that this necessarily limits the amount of cracked or whole 
corn that can be fed, and as it generally is desirable to use 
corn freely in the scratch grain mixture its use in the 
mash should be limited to the amount required to make it 
palatable and to have it in proper mechanical condition. 

Rolled Oats. Under many conditions it is desirable 
to add rolled oats to the mash mixture, meaning by this 
whole oats that have been run through the rollers or 
through a feed mill and crushed or partly ground. Where 
rolled oats are low in price they can be substituted in part 
for bran. This grain is quite high in crude fiber, however,, 
and if soaked or sprouted oats are fed there seldom is 
any need for them in the mash mixture. 

Meat Scrap. Animal matter in some form is a neces- 
sity in the feeding of fowls of all ages and it cannot be 
neglected in the ration of either chicks, growing stock or 
adult fowls without loss. Fresh meat no doubt is the 



58 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 



best form in which to supply it, but it rarely is possible 
to obtain this at reasonable cost. The green cut bone se- 
cured at meat shops usually is priced too hig'h to be an 
economical feed, though it may be used in limited quan- 
tity for the sake of variety. Under most conditions com- 
mercial meat scrap will be the back-yard poultry keeper's 



j l WW^WMj'WWWWtf l ^*** ^^ ^ ^'^www^wW 'Ji yi K I 




A GREEN FEED PROTECTOR 

The frame of this protector is of 2 by 4-inch material, covered «ith oiic- 
iiich netting. Illustratio.n shows a splendid crop of oats that has been pro- 
tected from the fowls in this way until it secured a good start. Photo frojii 
United States Department of .Agriculture. 

mainstay. Tankage is used by many owing to the lower 
price at which it may be secured and, as a rule, good 
results are reported. Meat scrap, however, is generally 
regarded as a more desirable feed for fowls and is more 
uniform in quality where standard brands are used. 

Some ready-mixed mashes do not contain meat scrap, 
and as this material is rather high priced, the back-yard 
poultry keeper needs frequently to be reminded of its im- 
portance in the laying ration and urged to keep a supply 
on hand for use as needed. If the hens are eating about 
equal quantities of mash and grain and laying well, meat 
scrap may be added to the mash at the rate of 20 to 25 
per cent. If the fowls are not laying heavily, or if the 
kitchen scraps contain an appreciable amount of meat, 
the proportion may be reduced to 10 per cent, provided 
the reduction does not make the mash less palatable and 
thus interfere with its consumption. 

Fresh butcher's scraps or green cut bone may safely be 
fed at the rate of one-half ounce daily per hen, but if 
supplied too freely will cause digestive disorders. The 
same is true of meat scrap, too heavy feeding of which 
Vvill soon be indicated by soft, dark-brown droppings 
with a peculiarly offensive odor. Tankage is more vari- 
able in quality than meat scrap and must be fed with 
greater care. It is deficient in bone, one valuable ingre- 
dient of meat scrap, for which reason it will probably pay 
to add some ground bone or bone meal to the mash when 
tankage is used. 

Other Ingredients of the Mash. The foregoing feeds 
form the basis of all mash mixtures and usually nothing 
else is actually required. Just as in the case of grains, how- 
ever, where other mill feeds are obtainable at favorable 
prices they may be substituted to a reasonable extent. 
Oil meal used in the proportion of 5 to 10 per cent 
is regarded as particularly desirable during the molting 



season, and should always be added where there is a ten- 
dency to diarrhea, also in mash mixtures that are too 
high in crude fiber. Cottonseed meal is used in the South 
to a considerable extent in place of meat scrap. Quite 
contradictory reports have been published in regard to 
its desirability in the poultry ration but it appears to be 
safe to use it in limited quantity (not to exceed ten per 
cent of the mash mixture) if a good grade of meal is 
obtained. It is said, however, that meal made from seed 
that has been frozen is apt to cause trouble. At its best 
it is only a partial substitute for meat scrap and where 
the latter can be obtained at a reasonable price the addi- 
tion of cottonseed meal to a mash mixture is not advised. 
Buckwheat middlings are highly nutritious and where 
available at moderate cost may be used freely. Ground 
barley, rye, or almost any grain or seed meal may be 
added to the mash in limited proportion, being careful, 
however, to make no radical changes except for good 
reason, then to introduce them GRADUALLY. In every 
instance where something unusual is added to the ration 
the feeder should watch the fowls carefully, noting daily 
the consumption of the new feed and the condition of the 
droppings on the droppings platform so that any tendency 
to digestive disorders will be observed and suitable 
changes made in the feed mixture before serious trouble 
develops. 

Home Mixtures of Feeds 

A great variety of formulas for home mixtures could 
be given, but to do so would be confusing rather than help- 
ful to the beginner. As a matter of fact, pratical feeders 
follow closely the same formulas, differences in propor- 
tions or in grains used being largely matters of personal 
preference or availability of supplies. Employing only 
common feedstuffs that may be secured almost anywhere 
in this country, a practical formula for a scratch grain 
mixture consists of the following: For winter feeding: 
two parts of corn, one part of wheat, one part of heavy 
oats= — by weight in each case. For summer feeding: one 
part of com, two parts of wheat, one part of oats. Other 
grains may be added to this foundation mixture as de- 
sired, observing the precautions already suggested. 

A good mash mixture for laying fowls and growing 
stock consists of one part of bran, one part of middlings, 
one part of corn meal, to which add 10 to 25 per cent of 
meat scrap, the percentage varying with the age of the 
fowls, their productiveness, and whether or not they have 
any other source of animal food. The proportions of the 
different ingredients in the mash mixture depend to some 
extent upon the fineness of the meals employed, and for 
that reason any formula should be looked upon as tenta- 
tive, to be modified as occasion requires. If the fowls 
consume more mash than seems desirable, this may be 
checked by increasing the percentage of bran. If too lit- 
tle is eaten, increased consumption may be secured by 
making the mixture more palatable, doing so by increas- 
ing the percentage of corn meal or meat scrap. 

Some Accessories to the Ration 

The feeds that have been discussed, as represented in 
well-proportioned grain and mash mixtures, commercial 
or home mixed, supply most of the fowl's bodily require- 
ments, but not all. To have a complete ration these must 
be supplemented by other things. 

Grit plays an important part in fowl digestion and 
best results cannot be secured indefinitely without its use, 



FEEDING THE BACK-YARD LAYING FLOCK 



59 



though fowls sometimes appear to get along well without 
it for comparatively long periods. Almost any kind of 
crushed stone, pebbles, broken dishes or crockery will an- 
swer the purpose, though most will find it true economy to 
use a good brand of commercial grit. 

Oyster Shell. This material is the almost universal 
source of supply for eggshell material, and it cannot be 
omitted without loss. Do not make the mistake of think- 
ing that so long as the fowls do not lay soft-shelled eggs 
they are not in need of shell material. Experiments have 
shown that production may be cut down one-half or more, 
and the size of the eggs greatly reduced by the lack of 
shell material, without the appearance of any soft-shelled 
eggs. Laying fowls will not eat much grit when oyster 
shell is provided and often appear to do well without any, 
but it is better to be on the safe side and keep a supply of 
both before them all the time. 

Charcoal. Many feeders do not supply charcoal but 
it deserves a place in every poultry ration. It acts as an 
absorbent, corrects acidity, and helps to overcome indi- 
gestion in early stages. To a large extent charcoal is 
insurance against indigestion. 

Milk. Milk is an exceptionally good feed for fowls 
of all ages and now that it may readily be obtained in the 
form of semisolid buttermilk at almost any poultry feed 
store, its general use is to be recommended. The back- 
yard poultry keeper will, of course, see that his fowls get 
all the surplus milk from the kitchen, either sweet or 
sour, and where milk enters into the ration the percentage 
of meat scrap can be correspondingly reduced. 

Use of Condiments 

Digestive stimulants, such as red (Cayenjie) pepper, 
ground ginger, mustard, etc., have a place, though a 
comparatively unimportant one, in poultry feeding. Un- 
fortunately most persons who undertake to use them 
go to extremes and, in the long run, lose more than they 
gain. All condimental feeds should be regarded as mild 
correctives, practical for use because readily available, 
but to be employed only as temporary stimulants where 
some error in feeding or care has thrown the fowl out of 
condition. Their use is particularly indicated in cases of 
acute diarrhea, loss of appetite, etc. 

With pure, wholesome feed and 
careful feeding such ailments should 
rarely develop, and it is certain that 
where the use of such stimulants be- 
comes advisable there is something 
definitely wrong with the feed or the 
method of feeding it, and this must 
be found and corrected if good re- 
sults are permanently to be secured. 
It is useless to resort to condiments 
and leave the cause of the disorder 
uncorrected. 

Condiments probably have some 
stimulating effect on the egg organs 
also. Ground mustard has been es- 
pecially recommended for this pur- 
pose and many persons have reported 
excellent results from its use. They 
probably will have some eflfect in the 
case of fowls about ready to lay, but 
are practically worthless in "forcing" 
production in the case of immature 
pullets or resting hens. They have 



no such power, and their use simply adds to the cost of 
feeding and is apt to result in liver troubles. 

The danger in feeding all condiments is in the use of 
too large quantities, or in continuing to feed them for too 
long a time. The proper quantity to use can readily 
be determined by tasting the feed. It should be seasoned 
pleasantly to the taste, and no more, and their use should 
only be continued for a limited period. 

Green Crops That Will Help to Reduce the Feed Bill 

Comparatively few poultry keepers make any serious 
effort to realize the possibilities for economy in feeding 
that are aff'orded by the free use of green feed. Even 
where an effort is made to provide such material, it is 
done not because of its nutritive value but merely be- 
cause it is believed that a certain amount is required in 
order to keep the fowls in good health. Green feed un- 
doubtedly improves the digestion of fowls, supplies need- 
ed bulk and corrects the constipating effect of concentrat- 
ed feeds such as hard grains, rich mashes, meat scrap, 
etc. But just because it is looked upon as a sort of ac- 
cessory to the ration instead of an economical source of 
highly nutritious food, it generally is provided in as lim- 
ited quantity as the poultry keeper can "get by" with. 

There may be peculiar conditions under which the 
poultry keeper can afford to buy bran, mealed alfalfa, 
etc., at a cost of one and one-half to two cents per pound, 
to be used in the place of green feed, but these conditions 
are not common. Practically the only expense for green 
feed is the labor involved in its production. With small 
flocks this need hardly enter into consideration as, under 
average conditions, the limited amount needed can be 
grown at odd times when the labor utilized would other- 
wise have no cash value. 

Green Feed Protector 

Those who have comparatively small runs for their 
fowls find it possible to raise a good deal of green feed 
in runs by using protectors similar to the one shown in 
the accompanying illustration. The purpose of this pro- 
tector is to give the plants a chance to reach fair size, 
after which thev will stand weeks of grazing if the fowls 




A BACK-LOT PODLTRY YARD SEEDED TO ALFALFA 



This srpne on the poultry f)lant of R. W. Van Hoesen, New York, shows a splendid seeding of alfalfa 
and red clover in foreground with a iDlot of corn in front of the colony houses where young stock is being 
raised. The com will furnish shade in hot weather, with a few more weeks' growth, while the alfalfa and 
red clover will furnish the best of green feed throughout the entire growing season. 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 



are prevented from scratching and trampling them and 
picking off the tender young shoots as they come through 
the ground. Such quick-growing crops as lettuce, rape, 
rye, oats, etc., are especially adapted to this use. The 
protector may be made of 1-inch boards about 6 inches 
wide, for the sides and ends, covering with 1-inch-mesh 
netting and using cross strips to hold the netting up in 
the middle, if necessary. A convenient size for the frame 
is 4 feet by 8 to 12 feet. 

Carefully prepare the ground where the seed is to 
be sown, spading it thoroughly and putting it in garden- 
bed condition. Then sow the seed and cover with the 
protector. In warm weather the plants will grow quickly 
in the fertile soil of the average poultry yard, and as 
they come within reach of the fowls they will be greedily 
eaten. When the plants become woody and slow in growth, 
prepare a new seed bed and start a new plot. With a 
little effort the entire run may be utilized in this way 
during the season, not only providing a great deal of suc- 
culent green feed, but also purifying the soil. 

Growing Special Green Crops 

Cabbage. Cabbage can be used either as a soiling 
crop or stored for winter use, but if too heavily fed it 
sometimes unfavorably affects the quality and flavor of 
the eggs produced. Many persons find it a practical plan 
to grow cabbage for market, selling all the sound heads 
and feeding to the fowls the trimmings and the plants 
that fail to head properly. 

Mangels. Among vegetable crops grown for winter 
use, mangels usually are the most desirable. Great quan- 
tities can be produced on an acre of ground. Mangels need 
not be seeded extra early as they make their grovi^th 
rather late in the season. Drill the rows three to three 
and 'one-half feet apart, use plenty of seed and do not 
cover too deeply. As is the case with beet seed generally, 
germination is rather uncertain. To be sure of a good 
stand it is wise to sow liberally and thin the plants to 
eight to ten inches in the row. The young mangels that 
are thinned out will make splendid summer green feed, 
but do not make the mistake of letting them stand too 
long before thinning. Tearing out surplus plants after 
they begin to crowd in the row will injure those that are 
left, and may seriously check their growth. Give mangels 
clean cultivation and pull them before freezing weather. 

Miscellaneous Vegetables. There are numerous veg- 
etables and waste products of the farm and garden, such 
as potatoes, beet tops, tomatoes and apples, also clippings 
from the lawn, edible weeds from the garden, etc., that 
should be utilized when available. They are all valuable 
and they all help to save more expensive feeds. 

Sprouted Oats. Where special provision must be 
made for green feed there is nothing better or more prac- 
tical for everyday use than sprouted oats. In common 
practice the grains are soaked for a few hours and then 
spread on shallow .trays and kept moist and warm, under 
which treatment they quickly sprout and then are greatly 
relished by the fowls. 

The length to which the sprouts are allowed to de- 
velop before feeding depends upon the rapidity with which 
they grow, and on the personal preference of the feeder. 
To utilize the feeding value of the oats to the best advan- 
tage and to avoid danger of mold, it is better to feed when 
the sprouts are quite short, and only a few days at the 
right temperature are required to grow them to this stage. 
Small lots of oats can be sprouted in trays or pans in the 



kitchen or furnace room, but for quick growth and con- 
venience in caring for them a regular oat sprouter should 
be provided. 

Drinking Water 

An ample supply of wholesome drinking water is 
highly important for fowls of all ages, particularly in hot 
weather. Lack of water, even for a short time, will cause 
intense suffering, while drinking from unwholesome 
sources is quite apt to cause disease. Even when water is 
regularly supplied much trouble results from a lack of 
cleanliness in the vessels used. In hot weather various 
forms of bacterial growth increase with great rapidity in 
water and when the drinking vessels are placed where 
filth can accumulate in them or are left with sides coated 
with slime, a great risk is taken. The ordinary bodily re- 
quirements of fowls for water are about the same at all 
seasons, the normal v/ide range in daily consumption be- 
ing influenced chiefly by weather conditions, also by 
whether or not the fowls are laying. At the Missouri Ex- 
periment Station a pen of 60 White Leghorn hens aver- 
aged to consume 2% gallons of water daily during the 
warm weather, or at the rate of one gallon daily to 16 
hens. For suggestions in regard to how to supply suitable 
water vessels, etc., see Chapter VII. 

How to Prevent Drinking Water From Freezing 

Fowls need an abundance of drinking water in winter 
as well as in summer, and will not do their best without 
it. Fresh, clean water should be available for their use 
from the time they come down from the perches in the 
morning until they go to roost at night, no matter how 
cold the weather may be. This is especially important 
when dry mash is fed, as fowls will eat little of such ma- 
terials unless they have water with which to wash it down. 
Moreover, if the best possible results are wanted from the 
fowls, do not compel them to drink ice water, which will 
chill them, retard digestion, and seriously interfere with 
their bodily comfort. 

The back-yard poultry keeper often finds it difficult 
to keep water from freezing in severe weather, particular- 
ly if the supply for the entire day must be given in the 
morning, with no opportunity to warm it up during the 
day. Founts may be secured that are equipped with small 
kerosene burners by means of which the water can be kept 
at a moderate temperature, regardless of outside condi- 
tions. The cost of operating these is slight, and they are 
entirely safe when properly handled. Those who are so 
placed that they do not wish to use heated founts can se- 
cure double-walled founts, with an insulating air space 
between. In common practice these are filled with hot 
water the nig'ht before so that the insulating air blanket 
will be thoroughly warmed and the water reduced to a 
temperature suitable for drinking by morning. It then 
will remain free from ice throughout the day, under all 
ordinary winter conditions. 

A homemade insulated water vessel can be provided 
by using a pail or can of suitable size, placing this in a 
covered box a few inches larger and deeper than the pail, 
this extra space being packed with chaff, sawdust, plan- 
ers' shavings, or similar nonconducting material. The 
box should be deep enough so that when the waiter 
vessel is in place only the top will be above the cover. 
A water vessel insulated in this manner, if filled with 
warm water in the morning, should keep free from ice 
throughout the day. 



CHAPTER [X 



General Care and Management of the Laying Flock 

Back- Yard Poultry Keepers Have the Best Chance to Secure Maximum Production From Hens — How to Hasten 

Maturity of Late PuUets— Importance of Using Plenty of Suitable Floor Litter— How to Regulate 

Ventilation in the Laying House — How to Break Lip Broody Hens Qu'ckly 




ITH good, well-bred pullets coming to maturity 
and beginning to lay in October, getting prof- 
itable egg yields is largely a matter of proper 
feeding, comfortable housing and good treat- 
ment, and the last-named condition is by no 
means the least important of the three. Time and again 
persons whose fowls were in no way remarkable as to 
breeding, and whose housing conditions were far from 
the best, have reported most excellent production, for 
which the only probable explanation that can be offered 
is that the caretakers were "good poultrymen'' — meaning 
chiefly that they gave their flocks proper care. Laying 
fowls are far from being machines. They will, as a mat- 
ter of fact, respond surprisingly to intelligent and sympa- 
thetic treatment; and often this is the only "secret" of 
individual success. 

The small-scale operator has a much better chance to 
secure high egg records from his fowls than those who 
have large flocks and must depend upon quantity of pro- 
duction for their profits rather than securing maximum 
returns per hen. Even where all feed is purchased an 
average of anything over 100 eggs per hen should be 
clear profit; and when production reaches 125 to 150 eggs 
or better, as can quite readily be realized in almost any 
small flock, the net returns should satisfy the most enthu- 
siastic. There is nothing mysterious or especially difficult 
about getting good egg production either in the winter or 
at any other time. It is simply a question of having hens 
or pullets that are capable of laying and of KEEPING 
THEM IN LAYING CONDITION. 

It is ti-ue that many beginners do not have fowls 
that meet these conditions, but that is not so much because 
it is especially difficult to do so as because many will not 
take the pains to learn w!hat are the essentials in good 
egg production at any time, and under any condition. An 
illustration of this point is afforded by a letter recently 
received from a man who was considering investing in a 
small flock, but who had become uneasy 
because of the experience of a neighbor 
who had "started in pretty strong this 
fall with about forty hens and to date 
he has not secured any eggs and has 
found it a rather expensive matter to 
carry these unproductive hens for so 
long a time." 

It was unreasonable, of course, for 
either our correspondent or his neighbor 
to expect hens to begin laying just as 
soon as they were purchased and placed 
in their new quarters, particularly so 
since their owner was without experience 
and must learn how to care for his fowls 
and how and what to feed. Even with 
skillful management, pullets or hens 
must have a little time in which to be-. 
come accustomed to their new quarters 



and get into good laying condition. Just how long it will 
take to do this will depend upon certain factors, these vary- 
ing in number and importance with different flocks and dif- 
ferent operators. If it takes longer than the impatient 
owner thinks it should, there still is only one practical 
thing to do and that is to continue feeding the hens 
properly, keeping them comfortable, and making sure that 
conditions generally are such as are favorable to produc- 
tion. Depend upon it that when the fowls are in condi- 
tion to lay, THEY WILL LAY. 

If the beginner just mentioned, however, was one of 
the large number w'ho make their start blindly, assuming 
that "a hen is a hen" and buying without accurate infor- 
mation as to the character or the condition of the fowls; if 
pullets, not knowing how many weeks of feeding would 
be required to bring them to maturity; if hens, not know- 
ing how old they were, or wlhether they were a lot of 
worthless culls from the flock of some one better inform- 
ed, he had only himself to blame if his venture proved a 
losing one. Just because there are only a few conditions 
essential to success is not a good reason for ignoring 
all of them. 

Hastening Development of Pullets 

Persons who must depend upon buying laying flocks 
each season often find it impossible to secure early- 
hatched pullets, and must content themselves with late- 
hatched, immature birds that will not begin laying for 
some time. Pullets never begin laying until they are 
fairly well matured and rounded out, and until this con- 
dition is reached they should be fed a ration designed to 
hasten maturity rather than one intended to promote egg 
production. On a laying ration with a high percent- 
age of protein, young pullets will keep right on growing 
instead of maturing, and so long as growth continues 
there is no hope of their laying. What is needed at this 
time is not a laying ration, but a fattening one which 




VALUABLE FLOCK OF WELL-GROWN LIRP.s READ\ TO GO INTO 
WINTER QUARTERS 



62 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 



will check growth and cause the pullets to take on fat 
instead — a most important point in hastening maturity. 

To promote early laying, therefore, the ration should 
contain liberal proportions of corn and animal feed (fresh 
butcher's scraps are especially desirable) and, if possible, 
a daily feed of a rather heavy moist mash — that is, one 
not too high in crude fiber. It is not advisable to feed 
oats freely as that grain is particularly favorable to pro- 
moting growth. Continue this fat-forming ration until 
the pullets get plump and begin to sing and otherwise 
indicate that the egg organs are well developed, after 
which it may gradually be changed to the regular laying 
formula. 

It is not necessary nor desirable to resort to extreme 
measures to provide exercise for late pullets. Exercise 
is helpful in preventing adult fowls from becoming over- 
fat, which is a sufficient reason for avoiding it with the 
immature pullets that the owner is deliberately trying 
to fatten. These will need just exercise enough to enable 
them properly to digest their food and to keep in good 
health, but if not too closely confined they will need little 
attention from the caretaker in this respect. Stimulants 
and condiments are of limited value in hastening egg pro- 
duction. There is nothing that will "force" either hens or 
pullets to lay when they are not in condition to do so, and 
after they are in proper condition, good wholesome feed 
r.nd plenty of it is about all that is needed to start pro- 
duction, if other conditions are reasonably favorable. 

If the flock consists of hens instead of pullets, a fat- 
tening ration should be avoided unless the fowls are known 
to be in poor condition. Molting hens must be allowed 
time in which to grow the new coat of feathers and to 
recover from the strain of the preceding laying season. 
Efforts to bring them into laying early in the vsdnter are 
rarely profitable. They should be well fed, however, sup- 
plying a good nutritious ration, and when their appear- 
ance indicates that they are approaching laying condition 
they should then be placed on a laying ration, avoiding 



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AN ILLUSTRATION OF THE IMPORTANCE OF USING CLEAN LITTER 

Above chart shows in graphic manner the egg production of the flock of 440 White Lep- 
horns mentioneti on this page. Litter should have been changed by January 25, but this 
was not done until February lo, and the black line, which indicates the egg yield, shows the 
rcBult. After litter was changed production quickly came back to normal. 



too heavy feeding, however, until egg production actually 
begins, otherwise they may take on too much fat. 

Artificial illumination is extremely helpful in hasten- 
ing fall egg prodxiction in either pullets or hens, and no 
commercial egg producer can afford to neglect the use 
of this modern method — see chapter XVI. 

Litter For the Poultry House and How to Use It 

Litter for the poultry house floor is valuable chiefly 
as an absorbent and deodorizer, as an insulator (making 
the floor warmer in cold weather), and as a means of 
providing exercise for fowls in confinement. Unless ab- 
sorbed by litter the moisture contained in the droppings 
of fowls will make any house damp and foul smelling 
when the atmosphere is quite heavy or ventilation is re- 
stricted in order to retain warmth. At such times all the 
help that can be afforded by an ample supply of absorbent 
material is required in order to keep the house in a sani- 
tary condition. Dampness has an especially unfavorable 
influence upon the health of fowls, young or old, and when 
to this is added foul odors, disease is never far distant. In 
winter, litter keeps the fowls' feet from coming in contact 
with the cold floor and adds greatly to their comfort. An- 
other advantage is that it forms a cushion upon which 
they may alight when they fly down from the perches. 
Bumblefoot and injuries to egg organs are common 
troubles when fowls are allowed to fly down from high 
perches and alight on bare, hard floors. 

Litter too often is looked upon as a sort of "extra" 
that can be employed or omitted according to convenience, 
instead of being regarded as an essential no more to be 
neglected than feed or water. And there is no more 
short-sighted economy than being oversparing or indiffer- 
ent in its use. As an illustration of the practical im- 
portance of looking after the supply of litter and of renew- 
ing it often enough to keep it reasonably clean and fresh, 
the experience of a New York poultry keeper may be men- 
tioned. This man had a flock of 440 White Leghorns that 
went into the winter in good condition and 
were laying well until the litter became badly 
soiled and damp, due to long use and the close 
confinement of the fowls. Through an over- 
sight there was no straw on hand with which 
to renew the litter and none could be obtained 
for some days. As a direct result the egg 
yield fell off rapidly and from an average of 
about 205 eggs per day it dropped to 80 on 
the day when a supply of straw was secured 
and the house thoroughly cleaned out and re- 
littered. This done, the egg yield at once be- 
gan to improve and in 14 days was back to 
two hundred. This record is graphically re- 
produced in the illustration on this page, 
which is worth the careful study of anyone 
who thinks that he can safely neglect this . 
seemingly minor detail. 

How Much Litter to Use 

The amount of litter to use and the fre- 
quency with which it should be renewed, will 
depend upon a number of factors. So far as 
cleanliness and the comfort of the fowls are 
concerned^ it need only be deep enough to keep 
them off the bare floor and to prevent drop- 
pings from sticking to it. But it must be re- 



GENERAL CARE AND MANAGEMENT OF THE LAYING FLOCK 



63 



rewed as often as it becomes noticeably damp or foul 
smelling in winter, or dusty in dry weather. 

So far as saving in the cost is concerned it is doubtful 
if a sparing use of litter is any more economical than 
supplying it freely. A thin layer will get damp and foul 
smelling in a comparatively short time. A deep one will 
absorb moisture and deodorize the droppings, and will 
remain comparatively fresh and clean for a much longer 
time than would the same quantity of material applied 
in thin layers and frequently renewed. For this reason 
the most practical and economical plan is to keep a good 
coat of litter on the floor at all times. As it wears down, 
add fresh material as needed, continuing to do this until 
dampness or the accumulation of pulverized droppings 
near the floor makes a complete cleaning out necessary. 

The use that is to be made of the soiled litter and 
droppings will have some bearing on how freely it is em- 
ployed. The poultry keeper who grows some cultivated 
crops and thus is able profitably to utilize the fertilizing 
value of the droppings can better afford to use the litter 
freely than can those who have no profitable way of 
disposing of this valuable by-product. Whatever mate- 
rial is employed, care should be taken to use none that is 
extremely dusty or moldy. Fowls do not like to scratch 
in dusty litter, and the constant irritation of the mucous 
membrane of nostrils and throat caused by the dust some- 
times results in outbreaks of catarrhal disorders. More- 
over, dust in certain materials contains great quantities 
of mold spores which, when inhaled, may cause a serious 
disease of the lungs. Clover hay and shredded corn fodder 
or stover are particularly dangerous in this respect. 

Kind of Litter to Use 

For most poultry keepers there is comparatively little 
choice in materials, as they must take whatever is avail- 
able. Probably few who are able to secure wheat or oat 
straw at low cost will give any further thought to the 




cottonseed-huij:. litter in laying house 



This interior view of a laying house at the Texas Agricultural and Mechanical College Poultry Farm, 
.shows the floor littered with cottonseed hulls. This material is sanitary and gives the house a neat ap- 
pearance. Photo also shows special eaves and floor ventilation, and manure pit used in place of drop- 
pings platform. 



subject. Straw answers the purpose well, remains loose 
with an occasional stirring, does not readily break up into 
small particles, and probably is the most attractive of all 
litters so far as the fowls are concerned. Straw is high 
in cost in many localities, however, and its use then can 
scarcely be classed as practical. 

Where planer shavings are obtainable at low cost they 
may be used to good advantage, especially in combination 
with straw. Shavings alone make a good covering for 
the floor in warm weather, when they are employed chiefly 
to keep the floor clean. As scratching litter they are 
not satisfactory, but a mixture of shavings and straw 
is preferred by many to straw alone. Such a mixture 
is more absorbent, provides more exercise and lasts long- 
er than a coat of straw of the same thickness. Shred- 
ded com fodder or stover is used by many, and while not 
as desirable as straw, is a fairly satisfactory substitute 
for it. It should be well cured and free from mold. 

Various other materials are used locally, such as hay, 
leaves, pine needles, sawdust, coarse sand, etc., but ncme 
can be considered really satisfactory. Hay usually is too 
fine and packs badly; clover hay mats and the leaves quick- 
ly break up into fine dust and are wasted. Forest leaves are 
good while they last, but they also break up quickly and 
become quite dusty. Moreover, the labor cost of collect- 
ing them is out of proportion to their value. Sawdust and 
clean, coarse sand are good as absorbents and for the 
protection of the floor, but of no value as scratching 
material. In the South, cottonseed hulls have given the 
best of satisfaction in many cases and are comparatively 
inexpensive. 

Seasonable Directions for the Care of the Laying House 

Pesistent efforts have been made in the last few years 
to perfect a type of poultry house the ventilation of which 
would require little or no adjustment to meet changing 
weather conditions. Throughout what may be called the 
"poultry belt," however, such changes 
are so extreme that it is doubtful 
whether automatic ventilation will 
ever prove entirely satisfactory. 
Even if this object could be achieved 
the practical value of the feature 
probably would be comparatively 
slight to the small-plant operator. 
One of the important details in the 
everyday care of fowls is SEEING 
THEM; and the almost inevitable re- 
sult of automatic methods that re- 
duce the attendance of the caretaker 
is that the fowls fail to receive that 
careful observation which is much 
more apt to accompany frequent 
visits to the poultry house. 

Muslin when clean and dry is the 
best known medium for introducing 
fresh air into the poultry house with- 
out drafts and without undue loss of 
heat. It is important to remember, 
however, that muslin when wet or 
heavily coated with dust admits but 
little air. Many persons, therefore, 
who have houses properly constructed 
and adequately equipped with muslin 
curtains often find the circulation of 
the air too slow because of the condi- 



64 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 



tion of the muslin, or because the shutters are kept 
closed when they should be open. A moderate degree of 
still cold will do the fowls no particular harm — not nearly 
so much at any rate as impure air or excess moisture. It 
is impossible to give an exact statement of the temperature 
above which the shutters may be left open or below 
which they should be closed, as there is a decided differ- 
ence in the amount of cold that fowls can stand, depend- 
ing upon whether or not they have been gradually accus- 
tomed to low temperatures. When winter opens with an 
extreme cold snap before they have become hardened they 
■will be uncomfortable at considerably higher tempera- 
tures than would be the case after they are accustomed 
to winter conditions. It is necessary, therefore, to use 




.SC:REEN I'OR PROTECTING FOWLS FROM DRAFTS 

In narrow housf^s, also in buildings of faulty construction, it sometimes 
is ncccosary to provide a screen to protect the fowls from draft,* on the perches. 
.Sereen here shown is permanent but for ordinary use one which can be fas- 
tened up against the rafters when not needed will prove more satiafactor\'. 

more caution early in the season about exposing the fowls 
to severe cold. After they have become properly hard- 
ened there is no need for closing the muslin curtains, day 
or night, unless the temperature drops down to 20 degrees 
or below. In the daytime they should always be open 
when the sun is shining and the temperature is much 
above zero. An exception to this may be noted in the 
case of windy weather when the shutters should be closed 
at higher temperatures than would otherwise be necessary. 
The novice who wants to keep his hens as comfortable 
as possible often is uncertain as to how to determine 
whether he is giving ventilation enough, but with a little 
experience he learns to gauge it by the smell of the air 
and by the amount of moisture present. A.n infallible 
sign of too Jittle ventilation is the presence of e.xcess 
moisture. Reasonably clean litter that feels damp to the 
touch, and walls and ceilings with frost or moisture 
.standing upon them, all point clearly to the need for 
more air, which should promptly be provided even though 
it may involve lowering the temperature of the house be- 
yond what is considered desirable. 

Preventing Direct Air Currents 

Many poultry keepers who have cloth-front houses 
experience some difficulty with direct air currents which 
strike the fowls either on the perches or on the floor when 
the fronts are open. Sometimes this condition is the 
result of defective planning and construction and can only 



be corrected by making suitable changes in the house. 
It is not desirable to have the bottom of the opening 
closer than three feet to the floor and, as a rule, at this 
height there will be little trouble. If the fowls are ex- 
posed to direct air currents when on the perches — a com- 
mon fault in houses that are less than 12 feet wide — they 
should be protected by curtains. 

Summer Ventilation 

Little need be said in regard to summer ventilation 
except to urge providing all that the construction of the 
house will admit. If after doing this the pens still are 
uncomfortable, additional means of providing for air cir- 
culation should be installed. The style of rear ventilator 
illustrated on page 47 can be adapted to almost any type 
of house and should never be omitted where the summers 
are hot. If small windows are placed under the platform, 
these should be removed as soon as warm weather comes 
on, which will help greatly in making the back part of 
the house comfortable. Hens often suffer more from 
heat than from cold, and production and health during 
midsummer are apt to be seriously affected by confine- 
ment in hot, stuffy quarters. 

Cleanliness 

Speaking generally, a poultry house is clean so long 
as it is dry and reasonably free from odors; and that 
condition depends more on ventilation than on the fre- 
quency with which the droppings are removed. A drop- 
pings platform covered with an inch or two of dry drop- 
pings will promptly take up the moisture of each night's 
deposits and the house will be as free from odor as one 
that is cleaned every day or two. If the droppings re- 
main moist, however, due to weather conditions, they 
should be rem.oved daily or, in freezing weather, as often 
as they thaw out so as to make removal possible. As a 
means of keeping droppings dry and to make it easier to 
remove them in freezing weather, it is always desirable 
to cover the platform at each cleaning with some absorb- 
ent material such as dust, sand or sawdust. 

Treatment of Broody Hens 

Those who have fowls of the larger breeds, such as 
Plymouth Rocks, etc., are apt to find that many of their 
birds are persistently broody in the summer and unless 
they are rightly handled the egg yield will be materially 
affected. Fowls of the lighter breeds, such as Leghorns, 
Anconas, etc., are less liable to become broody, though 
there are no breeds t'lat are entirely "nonsitting." 

It is a comparatively easy matter to break up brood- 
iness if it is taken in hand promptly. Hens that are 
allowed to sit for several days, however, before any at- 
tempt is made to break them up, will frequently continue 
broody indefinitely in spite of any measures that may 
be taken. Just as soon as it is clear that the hen wants 
to sit she should be taken from the nest and placed in a 
coop especially provided for the purpose. This coop 
should be open all around, with a slat bottom. Confine 
the broody hens until they stop clucking, but do not 
starve them. Continue to feed them well and supply 
succulent green feed, water, etc., so that they will keep 
in good physical condition. Where this pratice is follow- 
ed they will usually begin laying again within a few days. 
Broody hens that are well fed will begin laying in half 
the time that would be required in the case of those that 
have been starved and abused during this period. 



CHAPTER X 



Egg Production Without Outdoor Runs 

Outdoor Runs Not Essential to Profitable Egg Production — The Conditions Under Which Famous Layers in Vineland 

Contest Are Kept Can Readily Be Duplicated by Any Back-Yard Poultry Keeper — Remarkable Record 

Made by Flock Kept in Confinement from Chickhood to End of First Laying Year 




TTENTION has been called elsewhere to the 
fact that many back-yard flocks are kept con- 
fined to their houses all year through, no yards 
whatever being used. If fowls so confined are 
to give good egg yields they must, of course, 
receive proper care and treatment. To do this naturally 
calls for more work than would be demanded where fowls 
have ample room, but those who do not find it convenient 
to provide yards have the satisfaction of knowing that 
this need not interfere with their keeping fowls suc- 
cessfully if proper methods are adopted. 

At the Indiana Experiment Station in a 12-month test 
with fowls on open range, in yards, and confined to their 
houses, it was found that the yearly production of pul- 
lets in constant confinement was only 16 eggs less than 
in similar flocks having free range, and only 12 eggs 
less than in flocks that had good-sized yards. In this 
experiment rations and methods were the same for all 
flocks, and it is reasonable to assume that if attention had 
been given to adapting conditions to the special require- 
ments of fowls in confinement their egg yield would have 
kept up fully to the production of the range flock. In 
other words, constant confinement need not prevent good 
egg production. 

As a concrete example of how the confined back- 
yard flock may be handled and of the results that may 
be secured, the following interesting report is given. 
This report first appeared in an extension circular of the 
University of Missouri. It gives the results secured by 
Professor H. L. Kempster, head of the Poultry Depart- 
ment, with his own back-yard flock. 

The Story of a Back-Yard Flock 

A Practical Demonstration of the Profit To Be Realized 

From Fowls Kept in Constant Confinement — Can 

Be Duplicated by Anyone Who Has Any 

Back- Yard Space at All 

By PROF. H. L. KEMPSTER, University of Missouri 

'V^ HILE neighbors were paying from 35 to 40 cents a 
dozen for eggs during the early months of 1917, ten 
White Leghorn pullets in the writer's back yard were dem- 
onstrating the efficiency of a small poultry flock in reducing 
living expenses. These hens were purchased as immature 
pullets November 1. Only two were old enough to lay 
before January 1. At the end of seven months, May 31, 
the flock had produced 749 eggs at a feed cost of less than 
14 cents a dozen. The average retail price of eggs in 
Columbia during this time was not less than 35 cents 
a dozen. Thus, on the basis of that price, the hens re- 
turned a labor income of $1.32 each. 

The House. — The house was made of packing boxes 
and covered with roofing paper. It is 5% feet square, 5 
feet high in front and SVz feet high in back. Six feet 



square and a foot higher would have been more convenient. 
The door is 2 by 5 feet. Ventilation and light are provid- 
ed by a space 2 feet by 3% feet. In the lower two-thirds 
of this space is a window sash with six 8- by 10-inch 
panes. The actual cost of this house, not including pack- 
ing boxes, was $3.85. 

Method of Feeding. — The method of feeding, especial- 
ly the feeding schedule, was adapted to the convenience 
of the caretaker. This was because he did not get home 
at night until after the birds had gone to roost. In the 
morning a pail of fresh water was provided and dry mash 
was put in the hopper if necessary. Any available table 
scraps, a crumbly wet mash composed of some dry mash 
and milk or water, and a quart of the cracked corn were 
fed at noon. When the days became longer the grain was 
fed at night. So far as actual results were concerned, the 
eff'ect was the same. The birds would eat the wet mash 
at noon and, when their hunger returned, satisfied their 
appetites with the grain. 

Egg Yield and Cost. — The egg production by months 
was: Nov., 27; Dec, 15; Jan., 84; Feb., 116; March, 165; 
April, 169; May, 173; total, 749. The egg production dur- 
ing November and December was low owing to the fact 
that only two of the birds were mature enough to start 
laying before January 1. The back-lot poultry keeper is 
urged to get only full-grown pullets. Had this been done 
there is no reason why egg production during the first two 
months should not have more nearly approached the aver- 
age. As it was, the feed cost of the 62 dozen and 5 eggs 




PROFE.SSOR KEMPSTFR'S S3.8.J BACK-YARD POULTRY HOUSE 

65 



66 



sucx:essful back-yard poultry keeping 



was $8.66 or 13.87c a dozen. Since the average price for 
eggs paid by the consumer has been at least 35c, it is thus 
seen that the hens returned a profit of $13.18 or $1.32 a 
bird for a period of seven months. No charge is made 
against the birds for depreciation. From the standpoint 
of their feed value they were worth more at the end of 
the test than they were at the beginning. 



I> 



Professor Kempster's profitable experience with his 
back-yard flock is by no means exceptional. Numerous 
other reports of the successful adoption of this method 
will be found in other chapters of this book, many of these 
reports showing much greater average production. It 
will be appreciated that starting late with immature pul- 
lets is in no way a fair test of what may be accomplished, 
though even that handicap did not prevent realizing an 
excellent profit. What may be done by way of getting 
truly high egg production from fowls in close confinement, 
under favorable conditions and with the right kind of 
stock, is indicated in the following article: 

"Egg Factories" in Door Yards* 

Constant Confinement No Bar to Securing High Egg Pro- 
duction — Methods of Handling Record Laya-s at 
Vineland Contest Can Be Successfully Adopt- 
ed by any Back- Yard Poultry Keeper 

By GRANT M. CURTIS, 
Editor of Reliable Poultry Journal 

OWN at Vineland, the last week of April, this year, 
we spent several hours on the plant of the Vineland 
International Egg-Laying and Breeding Contest, in com- 
pany with Professor Lewis and Elmer H. Wene — the lat- 
ter being resident superintendent of this contest. As we 
were filling our notebooks with the valuable facts Mr. 
Wene was giving us, based on the care, management and 
world-record production of the one thousand birds engaged 
in this contest, we wrote dovirn the following, among other 
things: 

"Last week our birds here — the entire one thousand- — 
averaged better than 65 per cent production. Several of 
the Leghorn pens reached 70 per cent production. That 
means seven eggs a day from ten birds. The 'high peak' 
of production was attained two or three weeks ago when 
the entire one thousand birds reached 67.7 per cent pro- 
duction." 

"No," continued Mr. Wene, "they have not been let 
out of these houses, not a day nor an hour, since Novem- 
ber 1 of last year, on which date the contest started of- 
ficially. Nor will they be let out until about May 15, or 
perhaps a little later than that — not until we find there 
is a perceptible drop in production. By that time brood- 
iness probably will be getting in its work, which will cut 
down production. However, if as late as May 15 they 
are still laying 60 to 65 per cent, we shall not let them 
out in the yards until production actually drops to about 
50 per cent. 

"These houses are uniformly 8 by 10 feet in size and 
each house connects with an alfalfa yard or run that is 34 
by 80 feet in size. During the three-year period of this 
laying and breeding contest we are carrying ten birds to 
each house, but starting next November 1, in our second 
laying and breeding contest, we are to place twenty birds 
in each of these houses. An 8 by 10-foot house gives us 

*Reprint«d from Srptflnbir, 1919, !s9up of Krliablv Poultry Journal. 



80 square feet of floor space; therefore the 20 birds will 
each have 4 square feet of floor space, which is regarded 
as ample, in general practice." 

Think about this for a few minutes! Here we find 
expert management of domestic fowl that has for its 
object maximum egg production, under what are be- 
lieved to be highly favorable conditions. Professor Lew- 
is and Mr. Wene are deservedly proud, are truly elated 
by the wonderful egg production they are obtaining this 
year in the Vineland Egg-Laying and Breeding Con- 
test. These birds, under their care, are many thou- 
sands of eggs ahead of any similar contest ever held in 
this country. And under what conditions are these high 
egg records being made? Under exactly the conditions- 
that easily can be duplicated in any dooryard! 

The Vineland 8 by 10-foot poultry house is a simple 
affair — both simple and inexpensive. Such a house can 
be located in almost any dooryard and positively no run- 
way is needed as regards the health of the birds or to 
secure high egg production, from the time that ready-to- 
lay pullets are placed in the house in the fall of the year 
until these birds start to molt the following summer and 
then can be disposed of one at a time on the home table 
as meat for the family, or sold in the local market. Said 
Mr. Wene further: 

"Under no circumstances would we let these contest 
birds out in the runways until they have gone off in pro- 
duction and have dropped to about 50 per cent, as before 
stated. To let them out now (April 28) would be a se- 
rious mistake as regards egg production- — would cause 
their production to drop 15 to 20 per cent in 48 hours or 
such a matter. Naturally they would like it, and if we 
were handling these birds as breeders with the intention 
of hatching their eggs, it might be a good thing for them. 
But our object is to get maximum egg production and it has 
been proved conclusively that to let these birds out in 
the yards would materially cut down their egg yield.'' 

Suggestive Results in Time Past 

At this point permit us to digress a bit — going back 
15 to 18 years in hen history. Off-hand, without looking 
up actual dates, we think it was about 18 years ago 
that writer visited the poultry plant of C. H. Wyckoff, 
then located near Groton, New York. At the time of our 
visit he had 600 to 700 White Leghorns that he was keep- 
ing mainly for egg production — the eggs being sold for 
hatching purposes in season and on the market for table 
use the balance of the year. His houses, as we recall it, 
were 16 by 40 feet, each with a partition through the 
middle, making the pens 16 by 20 feet and each pen con- 
nected vrith a yard or runway two rods by five rods in 
size, or practically 33 by 85 feet. Mr. Wyckoff housed in 
each pen 50 to 70 birds. 

One year, for the entire 12 months, Mr. Wyckoff kept 
600 S. C. White Leghorns in these houses and yards, 
starting with an even 600 and losing only about a dozen 
during the year, which losses were replaced promptly 
from his surplus stock. Away back there, 16 to 18 years 
ago, he obtained the remarkable egg yield of 194 eggs per 
hen per year from this flock of 600 "business hens," kept 
under the conditions here described. These hens, except 
in winter, were allowed to run out in the yards, and 
green feed in the form of cabbages, mangels, etc., was 
fed to them regularly. However, one pen of these Leg- 
horns, located in an end bouse, had free range in a three- 
acre apple orchard that, durinjr the open season, was well 



EGG PRODUCTION WITHOUT OUTDOOR RUNS 



67 



covered with grass — it looked like blue grass to us. Mr. 
Wyckoff at the time was quite puzzled about this pen 
because the egg yield from it ranged 15 to 20 per cent less 
than from the same kind and quality of birds in the other 
houses that had access only to much smaller yards from 
which they had stripped every vestige of grass or other 
green feed. Here was a clear hint that too much range 
will cut down the egg production rather than help keep 
it up to average or insure an increase. 

Two or three years later we visited the home and 
poultry plant of Herbert N. Rollins (since deceased), at 
Woodville, Mass., at that time a leading successful breed- 
er of Light Brahmas of exhibition quality, known as the 
Giant Strain, vrinners year after year at Boston, New 
York, etc. Here we found that Mr. Rollins had crossed 
White Leghorn males on Light Brahma cull pullets (pul- 
lets not up to top-notch grade in exhibition points) and 
we were much interested in his method of handling the 
pregeny of this cross- — ^meaning the pullets of course — 
for egg production. He had a long 
poultry house, a rather ramshackle 
affair, about 14 by 100 feet, as we 
now recall it, which he divided into 
pens of 12% by 14 feet, or perhaps 
a little larger. Two-inch-mesh wire 
poultry netting formed most of the 
south or front wall of this house (roof 
sloped to the south, giving a low 
front, comparatively), but there was 
a muslin-covered frame that could be 
let down from the inside to cover the 
wired front in extra cold weather, 
also to prevent snow and sleet from 
blowing in. 

Confined Throughout Entire 
Laying Year 

In each of these pens Mr. Rollins 
placed about thirty of the crossbred 
pullets (they looked like White Rocks 
with moderately feathered legs), 
quartering the birds there in late 
October when he took them off the 
range, and these birds were kept con- 
fined continuously in the pens here 
described throughout the winter and 
following spring, up to the time when 
they began to molt in the following 
June, July or August. Then they were 

sold on the market for table use. What was meant to be 
egg-forcing feed was given them, the definite plan being to 
obtain as many eggs as possible during their first year 
of production, then to market them promptly when they 
began to molt and had stopped laying. 

We were at Mr. Rollins' place in mid-June, as we re- 
member, and up to that time these crossbred pullets, 
closely confined as here described, had laid an average of 
122 eggs per hen, which was not all bad for that "day 
and generation," yet here we had the same method of 
close confinement throughout the vrinter and following 
spring that now is being employed with such illuminat- 
ing and convincing success at the Vineland International 
Egg- Laying and Breedirig Contest! 

In the "old days" everybody was taught to believe 
that hens, in order to be healthy, must have range. Also 
we were given to understand that unless hens had outdoor 



range, especially in the springtime, they would not lay 
well. This meant an eternal conflict, so to speak, between 
the busy, thrifty hen and the home or neighbor's garden. 
Those claims now are found to be erroneous. They simply 
were not and are not now true. The conditions and re- 
sults — in fact, unequaled results — at Vineland have clear- 
ly and fully proved this. Those hens at Vineland do 
their best work in confinement, as regards prolific egg 
yield, and it would be entirely practical to keep them 
confined straight through the spring and summer, until 
the different individuals go into molt, by which time 
they will have ended their first year of production as 
pullet hens. We have here, then, the solid foundation 
for a back-yard or dooryard branch of the poultry indus- 
try, for the location and successful management of a 
profitable "egg factory" in every house yard where a 
small coop, 8 by 10 feet in size, can be located, in which 
coop ten to twenty ready-to-lay pullets can be placed in 
the fall. And if a gasoline lamp is centrally located in 




VINELAND CONTEST HOUSE SUITABLE FOR BACK-YARD "EGG FACTORY" 

This house is 8 by 10 feet and at Vineland is used with gravel or sand floor. Fowls at the contest 
;ue kept indoors from the time the contest begins, November 1, until well along in the following summer. 
House will arcommodato about 20 layers. 



this coop, suspended from the ceiling, or if a twenty-five- 
watt electric incandescent lamp can be hung from 
the ceiling, the fortunate owner of each dooryard egg 
factory will be able liberally to supply his home table 
with new-laid eggs, from September or October of each 
season for a period of eight to ten months, in a profitable 
and satisfactory way not dreamed of half a dozen years 
ago. All the facts that fully support the foregoing 
statements are now at hand — have been furnished us in 
official form. That was one of the impressive lessons we 
learned at Vineland this last spring and we are glad to 
be able to present it in these pages with special and de- 
served emphasis. Without a doubt the location o£ ten to 
twenty-bird "Egg Factories" in tens of thousands of door- 
yards will benefit enormously the general public, and this 
branch of industry should therefore be encouraged in 
every practical way. 



68 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 



Raising Day-Old Cdicks in Confinement* 

Six Hundred Leghorn Day-Old Chicks Are Successfully 

Raised in Close Confinement — In the Fall the Best 

Pullets in the Flock Are Selected and Kept 

an Entire Year in the Same Quarters 

By G. WEBSTER MOORE, New York 

EDITORIAL NOTE: The author of the following 
article goes a step farther than recommended in the pre- 
ceding- article, not only keeping his pullets in confinement 
throughout the laying period, but making his start with 
day-old chicks which are raised in the same close quarter.s 
that the pullets are to occupy when they reach maturity. 
An itemized account of receipts and expenditures, accom- 
panied Mr. Moore's article, but is omitted for lack of space. 



X N ORDER to satisfy himself as to the profit in back- 
yard poultry keeping under present conditions the 
writer undertook and has recently completed the follow- 
ing tests: 

1. Can day-old chicks be reared in large numbers to 
maturity and at a profit, when confined to the limits of a 
back-lot house? 

2. Can pullets be reared with sufficient stamina to 
stand the strain of the first laying period if confined to 
the house, and made to pay a profit? 

The two round houses shown in accompanying illus- 
tration were used in these tests, being set up on the back 
lot of my home. May 15, 1917, 600 Single Comb White 
Leghorn day-old chicks were put in the 16-foot house, 
the fixtures provided for the laying flock being removed, 
and the interior heated with a standard stove brooder. 

The first three weeks they were fed Pratt's Baby 
Chick Feed. This feed was gradually changed to a mash 
composed by weight of one part each of bran, middlings, 
corn meal and ground oats, which was constantly before 
them. Their grain was fine cracked corn with a small 
per cent of pinhead cats fed in the litter to compel them 
to exercise. 



They were fed all the sour skimmed milk they could 
eat from the end of the first week until they were five 
months old. Once each day they were given a moist mash 
composed of the dry mash wet with hot water. Fine 
oyster shell was given for grit. There was always be- 
fore them a generous supply of lawn clippings. At four 
weeks of age the cockerels were separated from the pul- 
lets, put underneath the house and at eight weeks sold 
for broilers. 

At eight weeks of age 80 pullets were put into the 
12-foot house. The remainder of the pullets were given 
the 16-foot house with the run underneath. Ninety-seven 
pullets were sold at three and one-half months old, the 
remainder — 160 pullets and 3 cockerels— were grown to 
maturity. The first egg was laid October 5 — at 4 months 
and 21 days — by a pullet that weighed 5 pounds. Ac- 
count herewith gives the financial report of the first test. 
Out of the 600 chicks 67 died during the test. 

Account with Chickens, May 1.5 to Oolohcr H 

Reroipt.s rvalue of wtork .sold and on hand) - - - --$ 4()S. 20 

Expenditures (including eost of thicks and interest on invostnti?nt) 352.49 

NotproKt_ _ . - .. - .- - ■? 55.71 



*Reprinted from February. 1910. issue of Reliable Poultry Journal, 




rr: \ THE TWO ROUND POULTRY HOUSES USED BY MR. MOOIIE 

These houses are blocked up off the ground, providing a run underneath, fiere Mr. Moore raised 
the chicks fro-n which he selected the lf>0 pullets which formed his winter laying Hock. From the time 
the puUota were hatclied until the end of the first laying ceason they were never allowed outside these 
houses and the space imderncath them. 



Pullets Kept Without Yards 

The second test was begun October 15, 1917, with 160 
pullets at 5 months old, and continued one year to Octo- 
ber 15, 1918. Sixty pullets were put in the smaller house, 
100 in the larger. 

Their grain feed consisted of bolted fine cracked corn 
until June, when it could no longer be obtained. A com- 
mercial mixed grain feed was given the remainder of 
the year. About 14 lbs. were fed each day, an hour be- 
fore dark, in deep litter. A dry mash was kept before 
them at all times, made of one part each, by weight, of 
bran, corn meal and ground oats, until April, when bran 
was obtainable. From April 1 to the end of the year 
the mash was made of 4 parts Shumaker's Stock Feed 
and one part buckwheat middlings. 

Each day about '6 p. m., a moist mash was fed, made 
of 1% lbs. alfalfa meal soaked in hot water during the 
day, to which was added 4 lbs. of meat 
scrap, a little salt and sufficient of the 
dry mash to make a crumbly mix- 
ture. Occasionally in this feed some 
poultry tonic was given. For grit 
they would eat nothing but oyster 
shell. Fresh water was always be- 
fore them and given hot in cold 
weather. Sprouted oats were fed 
during the winter and lawn clippings 
in summer. 

Six pullets died from unknown 
causes and eleven were killed. These 
birds were never pampered, but the 
attendant never neglected to give 
them their feed and water on time 
and kept the houses properly clean- 
ed. The eggs and poultry were sold 
at the door to a shipper who paid the 
regular price for shipping to the 
wholesale market. Grain and mash 
feeds ranged in price from $4.00 to 
$4.6(1 per 100 lbs. 

.\ccount with I'ullcts, October l.j, IIIIT to 
October 14, 1»IS 

Receipts (value of stock on hand) .31,240.76 
rixpenditurcs (including interest on 

investment) . 902.30 



Net Profit ..? 347.37 

Total profit on chicles and pullets. . 403 . 03 

Eggs laid _ 25,29.'! 

Average per hen 175.45 



C HAP r E R XI 



Profitable Markets for Surplus Poultry Products 



Information on How to Produce Eggs of Superior Quality and How Successfully to Market Them at Home or by 

Parcel Post — What It Costs to Produce Table Fowls — How to Special Fatten and When and 

Where to Sell — Complete Directions for Home Canning of Chickens 




HE back-yard poultry keeper who is producing 
a surplus of eggs or table fowls has a distinct 
advantage over other producers in that he us- 
ually is able to get full retail price for every- 
thing he has to sell. As a rule, also, the cost of 
packing and marketing is reduced to the minimum since 
most sales are made at home, customers coming to the door 
for their supplies, or deliveries being made in person as 
convenient. There rarely is any trouble in finding sale 
for poultry products, since in every community there is 
always a demand for fresh eggs and fresh-killed fowls. 
However, those who are looking to their sales as an im- 
portant source of income wall find it well worth while to 
give the subject of marketing their careful attention in 
order to realize as good prices as possible. 

The town poultry keeper has an exceptionally good 
opportunity to work up a select trade in table eggs, do 
ing this on the basis of quality, freshness, etc., and often 
being able to secure premium prices for what he has to 
sell. It should be understood, however, that to do this 
often Calls for a good deal of salesmanship. Whatever 
may be the case in city markets, the average small-town 
buyer must be educated to the point where any advance 
over the regular retail price will be cheerfully paid, no 
matter how superior may be the quality of the product 
offered. It should be clearly understood, also, that pre- 
mium prices are conditioned fully as much upon confidence 
in the producer as on the quality of the article supplied. 

No particular class of customers can be depended 
upon to provide a market for premium-priced eggs. Fre- 
quently, persons whose incomes are comparatively small 
are truly appreciative of quality, while others with much 
greater incomes develop a most extraordinary streak of 
parsimony when this question is raised. The only prac- 
tical plan for those who are seeking to get the best prices 
for their products is to see to it that their eggs are al- 
ways of unquestionable quality and attractive in appear- 
ance — that is, scrupulouslv clean and neatly packed — and 
then simply to try out their customers, adding the pre- 
mium gradually and dropping, without argument, those 
who are not willing to pay. 

Quality in Eggs 

All eggs are of good quality v*rhen first laid but all 
are not equally good, as condition and flavor are deter- 
mined to some extent by the ration fed. Fowls that have 
a normal, well-balanced ration will lay eggs of the best 
quality, but those that are fed too much mash, too much 
sloppy kitchen waste, too much succulent green feed, 
large quantities of onions or other highly flavored feed- 
stuffs, etc., wall not produce eggs of the best flavor, nor, in 
some cases, will the eggs have the proper firmness and 
consistency. The average buyer also wants eggs wdth 
rich yellow yolks, a character that is determined entirely 
by the ration. Some kinds of green feed, particularly 
grass, clover, alfalfa, etc., also yellow com, supply an 



abundance of the pigment which makes yellow yolks. 
Cabbage, milk, white com and a ration lacking in com of 
any kind, unless reinforced with pigment-bearing green 
feed, will produce pale-colored yolks. 

It goes without saying that those who are catering 
to a select egg trade will produce only sterile eggs, as 
fertile eggs are subject to rapid deterioration in summer, 
even at ordinary room temperatures. The back-yard 
poultry keeper, of all others, has the least excuse for keep- 
ing males in his flock. They are of no value whatever 
in egg production, they add to the feed bill and, as a rule, 
their early-morning crovring is highly objectionable to the 
neighbors. 

Special attention should be given to cleanliness, al- 
lowing no eggs to leave the premises that are soiled or 
stained, and of course no one will think of filling orders 
with small-sized eggs or those that are thin shelled, 
cracked or in any way abnormal in appearance. All such 
eggs should be kept at home. Those who pay retail prices 
or a premium are entitled to eggs that not only are of 
unquestionable quality but that are in every way attrac- 
tive in appearance. 

Producers living within easy reach of a city market 
are exceptionally well placed for working up a special re- 
tail trade. An excellent illustration of the way in which a 
city market may be developed and served is found in the 
experience of R. W.VanHoesen, a New York poultry keeper 
who has made his back-yard flock a source of considerable 
additional revenue. Mr. VanHoesen lives on a town lot 
measuring about 80 by 200 feet. Finding his home mar- 
ket unsatisfactory, he developed a private retail trade 
in Buffalo, fifty miles -distant. The eggs from '"Beauty 
Farm" were packed in attractively printed pasteboard 
cartons and carefully sealed. The eggs were scrupu- 
lously clean, and as they were gathered regularly, stored 
in a coo! cellar and delivered twice a week, they were 
entirely satisfactory in quality. At first they were 
delivered in suit cases by messenger service; afterward 
they were shipped in regular thirty-dozen cases consigned 
to a schoolboy who was hired to deliver them. Monthly 
bills were sent by mail and not a dollar was lost through 
bad accounts. 

Mr. VanHoesen secured his first customers by per- 
sonal solicitation, taking pains to have them grouped for 
convenience in delivery. After getting started there was 
never any difficulty in finding customers, as the recom- 
mendations of the first ones secured increased his list 
faster than he could increase his production. Prices were 
based on an advance of five cents over the highest New 
York quotations. After getting established, however, it 
was not found necesssary to follow market fluctuations 
closely, the price being changed only three or four times 
during the year. 

During the broiler season surplus cockerels were dis- 
posed of to these customers, who took all that were of- 
fered them at $1.25 to $1.75 per pair, dressed (these were 



70 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 



prewar prices). From a back-yard flock of 150 hens 
handled in this businesslike way Mr. VanHoesen made an 
annual profit of $300 to $400. All the time, however, 
he kept improving his flock and studying problems of 
mating and breeding, until his reputation as a breeder 
secured for him a still more profitable market in filling 




AN ATTRACTIVE CARTON FOR THE RETAIL EGG TRADE 
HELPS IN MAKING SALES 

orders for eggs for hatching and stock for breeding, and 
the retail trade had to be given up. 

Many find parcel post a practical way of serving 
city customers. Eggs may be shipped quite safely by 
this method, delivery is prompt, and the cost is not ex- 
treme if several dozens are included in a single shipment. 
The experience related in the following article vrill be 
suggestive and encouraging to those who are considering 
this method of marketing. 

Marketing Eggs Successfully at Retail By 
Parcel Post 

Shipments Direct to Consumer by Parcel Post Go Through 

in Good Order When Properly Packed — Cost cf 

Marketing in This Way Is Not Excessive 

if Returnable Cartons Are Used 

By HAROLD W. GOULD, New York 

T N LOOKING back over several years' experience in 
building up a profitable parcel post egg trade in New 
York City and Brooklyn, I find that the marketing prob- 
lems present themselves in a fairly regular order, and 
that if these are carefuly met and carried out in a busi- 
nesslike manner, the marketing of his product will give 
the egg farmer little trouble, especially if he lives within 
50 to 100 miles from a large town, city, or other good 
prospective market. Marketing problems may be listed 
in order as follows: 

1. Securing a high-quality product. 

2. Finding satisfactory customers and keeping them 
satisfied. 

3. Finding a shipping box that will carry the eggs 
at small cost and without breakage. 

4. Keeping accurate records and making collections. 
Naturally, only high-quality eggs will satisfy a 

high-price market, and every egg farmer can easily 
produce that quality if he will systematize his work. All 
it requires is to have the fowls kept in clean houses, fed 
upon clean feed free from anything that will give the 
eggs an objectionable flavor — such as onions, garlic, etc. 
The eggs should be laid in clean nests, should be gathered 
twice daily, cleaned, graded as to size and color, candled, 
packed, and sold when not more than two days old. It 
should be the pride of every egg farmer to sell eggs of 
as good quality as it is possible to produce. 

When we can honestly feel that no one can produce 



better eggs than we offer, we are ready to approach prob- 
lem 2 — that of finding satisfactory customers and keeping 
them satisfied. This problem has been the stumbling 
block of many otherwise successful farms. I have tried 
several methods with varying degrees of success, and 
failure. Complete success hinges on getting in touch vpith 
the right class of people — people who know and appreciate 
what a good egg is, and who have the means to pay what 
the eggs are worth. My most fruitful lead, and the one 
from which I have secured as many customers as I could 
possibly serve, has been through obtaining from some per- 
son (high-class tailor, perhaps a ladies' shop selling high- 
priced govsms, etc.) dealing with a class of people 
whom I wished to reach, a list of his customers whom 
he could recommend. Another means is to buy a list of 
names of the best people. Still another way is to adver- 
tise in the daily papers of the town in which you wish to 
sell. Send your prospective customers a neatly typewrit- 
ten letter stating plainly exactly what you have to offer, 
the conditions under which your birds are kept, the whole- 
someness of the rations fed, and the care used to safe- 
guard the high quality of the egg from the time it is 
deposited in the nest until it reaches the customer. Tell 
him as briefly as possible just what YOU would like to 
know if you were the prospect instead of the salesman. 

After you secure a few customers of the right type 
your troubles in marketing will be over. If your eggs are 
what they .should be — always of the same high quality 
and freshness, always of a uniformly fair size and even 
color, always full bodied, absolutely new laid and whole- 
some, delivered without breakage and on time — you will 
not only hold your old customers, but they will tell their 
friends, who in turn will tell their friends, and it will 
not be long before your sales at good prices will be lim- 
ited only by your ability to produce the eggs. This class 
of people will pay well for a product in which they can 
place absolute confidence. The price will not make much 
difference if it isn't unreasonably high. 

The next problem is that of finding a parcel post 
shipping box that will carry the eggs at small cost and 
without breakage. This detail gave me a great deal of 
trouble for a long time. Sometime ago, however, I suc- 
ceeded in finding two types of boxes which have practi- 
cally ended my troubles along that line. The boxes which 
I prefer for steady customers are made of metal. They 
come in several sizes and are made of light but strong 
material. They take no more postage than paper boxes 
and when eggs are properly packed in them it is almost 
necessary to throw a trunk on them to cause breakage. 
Instead of using the regular fillers, I use, in most of my 
boxes, a regular 1-doz. egg carton. These fit the metal 



■HH|B -Vil iin ' HH|H 




st^Wff-j.u- 1 1 — - 




^P 




^■^ 



A FLOCK OF LEGHORN BROILERS ON POULTRY, PLANT 
AT MANITOBA AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE 



PROFITABLE MARKETS FOR SURPLUS POULTRY PRODUCTS 



71 



boxes perfectly and, with a layer of excelsior on top and 
bottom, carry fully as well as with the regular fillers, 
and can be packed much more rapidly. Reversible ad- 
dress cards are supplied with these boxes and the boxes 
can be used almost indefinitely. For customers who do 
not care to return the shipping boxes I use a box made of 
corrugated paper. 

Our last problem, and one which must be properly 
handled if we are to make a success of parcel post mar- 
keting, is the keeping of accurate records and making 
collections. It seems strange that so many otherwise 
progressive poultrymen will continue to slip along year 
after year with no definite method of keeping accounts, 
no accurate idea as to whether their business is operating 
at a good profit or a lean one, no data in black and white 
to tell them just where they stand at all times. No up- 
• to-date business men in other lines would think of trying 
to manage their affairs without records, and likewise no 
egg farmer can afford to neglect record keeping. 



MARKETING TABLE FOWLS 

The poultry raiser is fortunate in having a market 
for his fowls at practically all stages of growth from the 
time they are salable as squab broilers, at a weight of 
three-fourths to one pound each, until they are fully 
grown. He need not carry his chickens to any given size 
regardless of cost or probable future market, but can 
sell them whenever, in his judgment, they will command 
the largest profit upon his investment of capital and labor 
or when it best suits his convenience. 

Whether the supply of table fowls is produced primar- 
ily for table use, or simply represents surplus cockerels 
and cull pullets in broods annually provided for renewing 
the laying flock, much of the poultry keeper's profit will 
depend upon the judgment he shows in marketing. Many 
persons who raise fowls make a mistake in carrying them 
too long, while others, under difl'erent conditions, suffer 
equal loss of possible profits by placing them on the mar- 
ket when partially grown instead of keeping them until 
they reach larger size. It is not practicable to lay down 
definite rules for determining when to sell but it ought 
not be a particularly difficult matter for the individual to 
decide this for himself, taking into consideration the 
amount of feed required to produce additional gains, cost 
of feed, the probable selling price, and the room available 
for accommodating the fowls. 

Four Pounds of Feed to One Pound of Gain 

The amount of feed required to produce a pound of 
gain varies with the season, the breed and the conditions 
under which the chicks are kept, but speaking generally, 
from three to four pounds of grain will be required for 
each pound of gain. For example, in some experiments 
made at Cornell University, the feed consumed per pound 
of gain in chicks up to six weeks of age, varied from 3.27 
to 6.12 pounds, with an average of 4.21 pounds. During 
the next six weeks, or from six weeks to twelve weeks 
of age, from 3.4 to 4.1 pounds were required to produce 
a pound of gain, averaging 3.8 pounds. These weights 
represent "dry matter" and should be increased by ten 
to twelve per cent to get the ordinary weight of feed 
used. The chicks in this experiment were Leghorns kept 
in comparatively close confinement and probably represent 
maximum feed consumption for gains secured. At Guelph 
(Ontario) a mixed lot of 34.5 chicks, consisting of Or- 
pingtons, Wyandottes, Rocks, Leghorns, etc., consumed an 



average of 3.2 pounds of grain for each pound of gain, 
the fowls being grown practically to adult size. Another 
lot of 733 chickens, similarly handled, made an average 
gain of one pound of weight on 3.34 pounds of grain. The 
statement is also made that "several years' figures show 
that 4 pounds of grain will produce a pound of gain in 
live weight." At the Pennsylvania Experiment Station, 
mixed lots of chicks, six to twelve weeks old, confined to 
yards, consumed 3% to 4% pounds of feed to one pound 
of gain. 

On the farm, where the fowls have free range and 
where a good part of their living is picked up in the form 
of waste grains, weed seeds, green feed, bugs, worms, 
etc., the amount of grain required will be lower 
than in the foregoing statement, and for that reason farm- 




SDPERIOR-QUALITY BROILERS AND ROASTERS 

The two fowls on the right are two-pound broilers. *< weeks old. The 
two on the left are faney, small soft roasters 4S months old, weighing •> 
pounds each. The back-yard poultry raiser will find his be=t profits m 
producing table fowls of quick growth and "fancy" grade. 

raised fowls can be sold at a lower price than back-yard 
producers can afford to accept. As far as our informa- 
tion goes, the amount of feed required to produce a pound 
of gain does not appear to vary greatly from chickhood 
up, so long as growth is rapid, though it naturally in- 
creases as the fowl approaches adult size and gains are 
more slowly made. The first pound is necessarily much 
more expensive than succeeding ones, since to the cost 
of feed must be added the value of the eggs from which 
the chicks were hatched and the incubating and brooding 
cost. Moreover, much more expensive feeds are common- 
ly used at this stage of the chick's development. In the 
case of Leghorns, it is generally conceded that the sooner 
the poultryman can get rid of his cockerels the better off 
he will be though, as a matter af fact, Leghorn cockerels 



72 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 



with proper handling can be brought to a weight of two 
pounds without the use of any more feed per pound of 
gain than is required with chickens of the larger breeds. 

When to Sell Broilers 

Growing chicks are marketed as squab broilers, mean- 
ing chicks that will dress from % to 1 pound each, regular 
broilers dressing from 1 to 2 pounds each, and fryers 
dressing 2% to 3% pounds. The greatest demand for 
squab broilers is in late winter, at which time they com- 
mand extremely good prices. The principal market for 




FINE ROASTING FOWL WEIGHING NINE POUNDS, FOUK 
OUNCES AT SEVEN MONTHS 

them is in hotels, restaurants and, to a limited extent, in 
private families. Since the additional feed required to 
grow these chicks to full broiler size is so slight, many 
prefer to do this, and comparatively few dispose of their 
chicks as squab broilers aside from those who have Leg- 
horns or who must sell off the cockerels in order to make 
room for later hatches, or to give the growing pullets 
more room. 

Regular broilers are in great demand in the spring and 
early summer and command excellent prices, these grad- 
ually falling off as the season advances and farm-raised 
stock makes its appearance on the market, until late in 
the summer they usually reach a low level. Under back- 
yard conditions and for average markets, it seems safe 
to say that so long as broilers will bring 25 to 30 cents 
per pound live weight they can be solid as such to better 
advantage than if raised to larger size. 

Fryers or springers include the great bulk of the 
young chickens used on the home table. Early broilers 
generally are regarded as an extravagance, to be indulged 
in only infrequently. When farm-raised chickens begin to 
flood the market, however, prices go down and size in- 
creases to 2% to SV2 pounds, and almost any American 
family can afford, now and then, to have "fried chicken." 

When arid How to Special Fatten 

Growing fowls, as they run at large, rarely are fat, 
and to put them in best condition for marketing, vrith 
tender, juicy flesh and carrying a fair amount of fat, it 
is necessary to confine them and supply special rations. 
Young fowls kept in close confinement for a couple of 
weeks and heavily fed will make rapid gains in weight 
and will improve greatly in quality of fle.sh, especially 
if "milk fed," in which method buttermilk forms an im- 



portant part of the fattening ration. Such fowls usually 
command a good premium over the price paid for poultry 
of ordinai-y quality. Remarkable gains in weight often 
are secured in special fattening, 30 to 50 per cent in- 
creases frequently being secured in the ten days to two 
weeks which usually are occupied in the process. In 
lattening a double profit is realized since, in addition to 
the rapid gain in weight, the entire carcass of the fowl is* 
worth more, pound for pound, than before it was put 
through the special-feeding process. There is no com- 
parison between the tough, stringy iiesh of ordinary fowls 
and the tender, juicy flesh of one that is properly fattened. 
Confinement is an important detail in special fatten- 
ing, the fowls being either closely confined to house pens 
in flocks of twenty-five to fifty, or placed in specially de- 
signed fattening crates. So far as gains are concerned, 
it does not matter greatly which method is followed with 
broilers, though Leghorn cockerels will do better in small 
yards or roomy pens than in crates. Pen feeding is sim- 
pler for the inexperienced feeder, while crate feeding 
saves greatly in houseroom and produces somewhat bet- 
ter quality of flesh. 

Pen Fattening 

Because it reduces the activity of the fowls to the 
greatest practical extent, also for other reasons such as 
economy in houseroom, labor, etc., crate fattening is pre- 
ferred by commercial fatteners, but pen feeding undoubt- 
edly has its place in the production of good-quality table 
fowls. Rations and methods of feeding should be prac- 
tically the same in crate feeding. Provide suitable feed 
troughs into which the fowls cannot put their feet, and keep 
the pen floor covered with coarse sand or planer shavings 
to absorb the moist droppings that are characteristic of 
fowls when fed on sloppy rations such as are demanded 
by this method of feeding. Keep the house clean enough 
at least to be free from offensive odors. Pen-fattened 
fowls, if neglected, will soon become quite filthy and in 
this condition cannot reasonably be expected to make 
profitable gains. 

Crate Fattening 

In crate fattening the fowls are confined to especial- 
ly constructed coops or crates, generally of a type similar 
to the one illustrated herewith, which has a capacity of 
twelve to eighteen fowls, depending upon their size. 
Where small numbers only are to be fed, the crates may 
be quite simple in construction. The bottom should be 
slatted to permit droppings to fall through to the pen 
floor and the crate should be elevated about two feet. 
The crate here shown has two partitions, dividing the 
fowls into three lots of four or more. It seldom is desir- 
able to have more than eight or ten in one lot. 

The composition of the fattening ration usually is 
limited to locally available meals, whatever these may be. 
Fortunately, com meal can be secured almost everywhere, 
and is the one indispensable ingredient. In case of ne- 
cessity, fair results can be secured with com meal alone, 
mixed vnth milk. Much better gains and better quality 
of flesh will be secured, however, if more variety is pro- 
vided. A good fattening mixture for crate feeding is 60 
per cent of fine com meal and 40 per cent of red dog 
or white middlings. Another good ration consists of 
equal parts by weight of com meal, red dog and oat 
flour. Finely ground oats with hulls sifted out, oat flour, 



PROFITABLE MARKETS FOR SURPLUS POULTRY PRODUCTS 



:^ 



Liarley flour, buckwheat middlings or almost any fine meal 
may be used, though in rather limited amounts except 
in the case of oat flour which can be used in any desired 
proportion when the price is favorable. 

The ground grain mixture, whatever it may be, should 
be mixed with buttermilk or sour skim milk until it is 

quite thin, or so that 
it will drop from the 
mixing spoon or pad- 
dle, but will not run. 
Fowls are given all of 
this gruel-like mixture 
they will eat in twenty 
minutes, and the sur- 
plus then is promptly 
removed. If the feed- 
ing does not continue 
more than ten days to 
two weeks it is not 
necessary to supply 
grit, green feed or wa- 
ter during this time, 
but for longer feeding 
periods better gains 
will be made if these 
are provided. 

If milk is not 
available and the mash 
must be mixed with 
cent of meat scrap to 




R. I. RED BROILERS 

These two S. C. R. I. Reds weighed 4 J 
pounds when 12 woeka old. To secure 
rapid srowth chicks must be strong and 
must have first-class care. 



water, add about 5 to 10 per 
the mixture. There are a number of ready-mixed fat- 
tening rations on the market much better suited to the 
purpose, frequently, than any that can be prepared at 
home, and certainly more convenient. The gruel-like mix- 
ture just described is especially recommended for crate 
feeding. For pen-fattened chickens it is better to make 
the mixture somewhat stiffer. 

The length of the feeding period will depend some- 
what on the age of the fowls, their general condition, and 
the market in which they are to be sold. Chickens of 
broiler size will make their best gains in about ten days 
and seldom can stand more than two weeks of feeding. 
Larger fowls will continue to make good gains and to 
improve in quality and flesh for three weeks, or even four 
if carefully handled. It is impossible to soften the flesh 
of well-grown fowls in a short feeding 
period, though if the market is one 
which does not demand the highest qual- 
ity it may not pay to carry the feeding 
beyond two weeks. Other things being 
equal, pen feeding may be continued 
several days longer than crate feeding, 
without injury to the fowls. 

In special fattening, either in pens 
or crates, the fowls should always be fed 
lightly the first day or two. Heavy 
feeding from the start, on a ration to 
which the fowls are not accustomed, 
is apt to cause digestive disorders. 
Throughout the feeding period the at- 
tendant should keep a close watch on the 
droppings of the fowls. The condition 
of these will indicate the first stages of 
indigestion more quickly than they are 
likely to be detected in any other way. 



When the appetites of the fowls begin to fail, which 
should not be before the end of the second week if prop- 
erly handled, the feeding should be discontinued. Leave 
the birds without feed for twenty-four hours, then kill 
and dress them and send to market. 

How to Sell Table Fowls 

Without doubt, the producer who is in position to sell 
his fowls to a select private trade will get better prices 
than can otherwise be secured, and if he is producing them 
in sufficient numbers he will find it profitable to 
cultivate this trade. Many broilers and roasters are re- 
quired in the hotel and restaurant trade, but few producers 
are able to establish satisfactory connections of this sort. 
The average hotel is an extremely close buyer and stor- 
age stock appears to be given preference chiefly because 
of the ease, regularity and certainty with which supplies 
can be secured from this source. 

The preference of the market must be considered in 
deciding whether fowls should be dry picked or scalded. 
It is impossible to get top prices for scalded fowls in a 
market which prefers dry picking. If to be sold to select 
retail trade, broilers should be fully dressed — that is, they 
should be picked clean and split down the back with a 
sharp knife or a pair of heavy shears, and the entrails 
removed. If shipped to city markets they usually are 
killed and plucked, but not drawn. In plucking scalded 
broilers, the removal of pinfeathers is made easier if 
they are rubbed off rather than picked. This is done by 
getting the hand well covered with feathers and lightly 
rubbing the pinfeathers the wrong way, when they come 
out quite readily. Extreme care in removing pinfeathers 
may not be profitable where the chicks are sold at whole- 
sale, but for select retail trade it will pay to have them 
reasonably clean. 

Special Fatten Fowls for Home Use 

Those who are willing to give a little attention to 
proper fattening of fowls provided for home use will find 
that they can readily have poultry meat of exceptional 
quality. In spite of the great number of special-fattened 
or "milk-fed" fowls produced in this country, few persons 
outside of the large cities ever find them on the market. 
So far as the average consumer is concerned, his only 
chance to know what first-class table poultry is, is to do 
his own fattening. It is not much trouble to do this, and 
it pays in money as well as in improved quality. 




A CRATE FOR SPECI.4L FATTENING TABLE FOWLS 

Chickens intended for the table gain rapidly in weight and their flesh improves notic 
ably in quality if special fattened in close confinement. 



74 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 



Canning Chicken For Home Use 

The average producer will find it to his financial ad- 
vantage to use many of his surplus fowls on his home 
table and should provide amply for his own needs before 
seeking a market. Even where most of the fowls must 
be disposed of in late summer, as is usually the case with 
back-yard poultry keepers, it is possible to have poultry 
for use on the home table a good part of the year by 

canning the sur- 
plus birds. 

The home can- 
ning of poultry 
meat is not an 
experiment. The 
experience o f 
thousands of 
housekeepers, as 
well as the work 
done by the can- 
ning clubs in all 
parts o f the 
country, has 
shown beyond 
question that the 
method is entire- 
ly practical be 
sides being com- 
paratively simple. 
As a matter of 
fact, it is no 
more difficult to 
can chicken than 





r 



CANNED CHICKEN IN MASON JARS 

It is just as practical to put up chicken, tur- 
keys, ducka, etc., aa fruits or vegetables. The 
same methods are used and equally good results 
should be secured. 



to do any other kind of canning if proper care is taken. 
Especial attention should be called to the fact that 
soup stock may be put up as successfully as meat. In- 
stead of buying canned soups which not only are com- 
paratively high in price but, as ordinarily supplied, con- 
tain a minimum of meat in any form, and only a limited 
amount of nutrition, the poultry raiser can put up chicken 
soup, chicken broth with rice, chicken gumbo, etc., which 
not only will be much more wholesome, nutritious, and 
palatable than purchased soups, but can be provided 
at a fraction of their cost. 

In preparing poultry meat for canning, no vessels 
are required which are not available in any household. 
The cooking (sterilizing) is done in what is known as the 
waterbath canner — any kind of a metal vessel that can be 
placed over a stove, range or gas burner. A. bucket, lard 
can, wash boiler or any similar vessel having a tight- 
fitting lid may be used. It must be deep enough so that 
the water will be at least an inch above the tops of the 
jars, and a false bottom should be provided to keep the 
jars from coming in contact with direct heat, also to 
provide a better circulation of the water, and a more 
even temperature. 

.Canning Directions 

The following instructions for canning chicken are 
given by the Missouri College of Agriculture. The meth- 
ods here described are substantially those adopted by Can- 
ning Clubs, Home Economic Departments and practical 
housekeepers generally, and if followed carefully should 
insure complete success. 

"Method No 1. Dress the chicken and leave whole 
or cut into pieces as preferred. Cover with boiling water 
and simmer until the meat can be separated from the 
bones. Return the bones to the liquid and boil it down 



one-half. Pack the meat closely in hot glass jars, add 
one teaspoonful of salt to each quart and fill the jar with 
hot liquid. Adjust the rubber and top, leaving the latter 
slightly loose. Sterilize 3 to SV2 hours in a waterbath 
canner. Remove and tighten the tops immediately. The 
liquid remaining may be placed in a jar, sterilized 90 
minutes, and kept for soup or gravy. Two pounds of 
dressed fowl should make one pint of solid meat and a 
pint of thick stock. 

"Method No. 2. Cut the dressed, raw chicken into 
convenient sections. Pack into glass jars, add one tea- 
spoonful of salt to a quart, fill the jar with boiling water, 
adjust the rubbers and tops as above and sterilize in a 
waterbath canner 3% to 4 hours." 

Following are some further suggestions on the sub- 
ject from Farmers' Bulletin No. 839 of the United States 
Department of Agriculture. 

"Spring Chicken Fried. After cleaning and prepar- 
ing spring frys, season and fry as though preparing for 
serving directly on the table. Cook until the meat is 
about three-fourths done. If a whole spring chicken, 
break the neck and both legs and fold around body of 
chicken. Roll up tight, tie a string around the chicken, 
and drop this hot, partially fried product into a hot quart 
glass jar or enameled tin can. A quart jar will hold two 
to four small chickens. Pour liquid from the griddle or 
frying pan into the container over the chicken. Place rub- 
bers and caps into position but not tight. Cap and tip 
tin cans. Sterilize for 90 minutes — see Method No. 1. 

"In a similar way any fowl or wild game may be 
prepared by frying, oven-baking, roasting, or stewing. All 
may be packed after cooking three-fourths done in any de- 
sired way. Hot glass jars or enameled tin cans may be 
used. When the products are packed while hot in the 
containers, the hot liquids, gravies, dressings, etc., or hot 
water should be poured over them. Put rubbers and caps 
of jars in position, not tight. Cap and tip tin cans. Ster- 
ilize 90 minutes — see Method No. 1. 

"Chicken Soup Stock. Place 30 pounds chicken in 10 

gallons of cold water and simmer over fire for 5 hours. 

Remove meat from bones, then strain. Add sufficient 

water to make 10 

gallons of stock. 

Fill hot glass 

jars or enameled 

tin cans with the 

hot stock. Par- 
tially seal glass 

jars. Cap and tip 

tin cans. Ster- 
ilize 90 minutes. 

"Chicken Gumbo. 

Cut 2 pounds of 

ham into small 

cubes and boil 30 

minutes. Mince 3 

pounds of chick- 
en and chop % 

pound of onions 

fine. Make a 

smooth paste of 

% pound of flour. 

Add above to five 

gallons of chick- 

e n soup-stock. 

Then add V2 

pound of butter 

and V4, pound of 

salt and boil 10 

minutes; then 

add 3 ounces of 

powdered okra 

mixed with 1 pint ^ ^^^ ^^ canned chicken 

of water. Fill in- 
to hot glass jars This is a popular type of glasR jar used in 

or enameled tin home canning of chicken. Jars should be 
Qf^rir^o QO ^\rapped in paper on shelves to keep contents 

cans, bterilize yu from bleaching. Tin cans, which are cheaper, 

minutes.'' are successfully used by many. 




CHAPTER XII 



What the Back-Yard Poultry Keeper Wants to Know About Breeds 

Practical Values of Different Breeds Frankly Stated, With Suggestions on How to Choose Breeds to Meet Individual 

Requirements or Conditions — Brief Descriptions of Numerous Popular Breeds— PossibiHties in Breeding 

Standard Fowls for Exhibition and Developing Special-Ouality Strains — Importance 

of Striving to Combine ''Fancy" and "Utility'' Qualities 




ROBABLY no question is asked more frequently 
by the beginner than "what is the best breed 
for me to keep?" So far as inherent capacity 
for production is concerned, however, it is 
doubtful whether any important difference ex- 
ists between what are known as the "popular" breeds. 
Many of the lesser known breeds whose "fancy" points 
have been developed at the expense of or with indifference 
to their productiveness, are apt to make a comparatively 
poor showing at the nest, but such breeds as the Ply- 
mouth Rock, Rhode Island Red, Wyandotte, Leghorn, etc., 
are on more or less of an equality in this respect. Por 
illustration, at the New Jersey Experiment Station the 
average number of eggs laid by all hens of four popular 
breeds entered in several egg-laying contests has been 
compiled and found to be as follows: Plymouth Rocks, 
155; Wyandottes, 163; Rhode Island Reds,157; White Leg- 
horns, 165. 

It is probable that there are other breeds that would 
make equally good breed averages if represented in lay- 
ing contests in equal numbers, but 
lacking such proof the beginner will 
do well to use caution in considering 
the claims of those whose relative 
standing is not definitely established, 
or that are known not to be in 
favor among commercial poultry I 
keepers. Speaking generally, the rel- j; 
ative popularity of any breed or va- 
riety is a fairly good index to its 
practical value — not perhaps to what 
that value might be if its qualities 
were developed by careful breeding, 
but what it is at present. 

Of vastly more importance than 
differences between breeds, are the 
differences within the breed, due to 
the extent to which the egg-laying 
ability of various strains has been 
developed by careful breeding and selection. At the Vine 
land Contest the best and poorest averages in the differ 
ent popular breeds were as follows: 



docile in disposition and accept the conditions of close con- 
finement more readily than smaller and more active ones, 
but unless special attention is given to compulsory exercise 
they are apt to become overfat and to acquire the various 
diseases that accompany this condition. This is partic- 
ularly true after they have passed the pullet year. Fowls 
of the smaller breeds, on account of their natural activity, 
are less apt to become overfat and diseased, and will keep 
in good laying condition with much less attention to ex- 
ercise. They are more liable to become restless in close 
confinement, however, and to acquire the vices of egg 
eating and feather pulling. 

Special Points to Consider in Selecting a Breed 

Before deciding on a breed the beginner should de- 
termine whether he is going to keep fowls exclusively or 
chiefly for breeding purposes, for egg production, or for 
the production of table fowls as well as eggs. If he pur- 
poses concentrating attention on breeding exhibition fowls 
his own personal preference as to "fancy" points will 



1 -I 


^^w8^^"^«*w»«™ 


,.t|^ :,il i.f.,,i 


1 


1. 




. .kj 


J 



WjSm^W- 



Breed 

Plymouth Rock 

Wyandotte 

Rhode Island Red . 
Leghorns -. . 



Average Per Hen 

Highest Pen 

222.2 

222.5 

2-43.1 

■ 222. R9 



Just how much of the wide margin between the high 
and the low pens in each breed here represented is to be 
attributed to differences in inherent egg-laying ability, 
and how much to condition or age at the time the birds 
entered the contest, it is impossible to say, but obviously 
"breed" is of comparatively little importance. 

Neither in adaptability to close confinement is there 
much to choose between the breeds. Large fowls are more 



A PEN OF HIGH-PRODUCING R. I. RKDS AT VINELAND CONTEST 

This pen of 10 Reds laid 1,966 eggs in pullet year, or an a-erage of 199.6 eggs per hen. Indi- 
dual records range from 14S to 243. Photo from New Jersey Exp. Station. 

largely determine his choice. If egg production is the 
object, undoubtedly a given number can be secured at 
lower cost from small fowls than from large ones. The 
former not only consume less feed (about ten per cent 
less on the average), but they require less houseroom and 
cost less to buy or raise. The surplus young stock from 
such breeds is of little value for table use, however, and 
the adult fowls also are unpopular in poultry markets. 
If table poultry as well as eggs are wanted, fowls of the 
larger breeds must be selected. They vrill average to 
weigh nearly twice as much at maturity as Leghorns, for 
example, but with good management their egg production 
will be fully as great. 

There is some advantage in keeping nonsitting breeds, 
though it is a matter of convenience rather than of results. 



■Average Per Hen 
Lowest Pen 
99.7 
U.S. 
132.6 
127.7 



76 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 



Tlie production averages previously given show that fowls 
of the larger breeds average to lay practically as many 
eggs as Leghorns, which would indicate that the time 
lost in broodiness is more apparent than reaL In other 
words, while Plymouth Rock hens are going through 
broody periods, Leghorn hens may be taking a "rest" 
that will occupy as much or more time but which is not 
noticed simply because there is nothing in the conduct of 
the birds to indicate it. Much can be done to prevent 
loss of production through broodiness by giving the hens 
proper attention. If they are broken up promptly they 
can be brought back into laying again in a comparative- 
ly short time. It is well to bear in mind, however, that 
in most flocks some hens are much more inclined to brood- 
iness than others, and these should be eliminated from the 




A FEBRUARY -HATCHED LEGHORN PULLET LAYING 
AT AGE OF 129 DAYS 

This pullet was hatched February 25 and laid her first egg July 4, 
just 129 days after hatching. Early maturity is one of the poultry breed- 
er's interesting problems. Photo from Missouri Experiment Station. 

flock, as it is not desirable to perpetuate extremes in this 
character if only on account of the trouble caused. 

Choice in color of plumage is largely a matter of 
personal preference. White fowls are objectionable to 
many town poultry keepers because their feathers almost 
always ])resent a soiled appearance, which detracts great- 
ly from their beauty. A practical objection to dark- 
feathered fowls is their discolored skin when dressed. 
This may not be a serious matter unless the intention is 
to specialize in broilers, in which case white, buff or red 
fowls should be selected. 

Influence of Climate 

There are many profitable Leghorn flocks as far 
north as Canada, but speaking generally, fowls of this 
breed, with their large combs and tight feathering, are 
not as well adapted to cold-weather conditions as many 
of the larger breeds. On the other hand. Leghorns us- 
ually stand hot summers much better. For example, 
during 1916-17 the average production by breeds at Storrs 
(Conn.) and Vineland (N. J.) Laying Contests was as 
follows : 



Storrs 
Breed Average I'er F.ird 

Plymouth Ro.~k _. 161. 

Wyandotte. .,_ __ 165. 

Rhode Islajid Rod 15 -.S 

White Leghorn . 167.5 



Vineland 
.\vera?e Per Bird 
155. 
141 3 
150 6 
169.7 



While average egg yields were not materially diff'er- 
ent, the relative productiveness of Leghorns and Wyan- 
dottes (for example) at Vineland, with its mild winters 
and hot summers, was not the same as in the colder 
climate of Connecticut. 

There is an indirect way in which the question of 
breed concerns the back-lotter who buys a new laying 
flock each fall and each time must negotiate the annual 
shortaga in early-hatched pullets, being compelled regu- 
larly to choose between extreme prices for these (if ob- 
tainable at all) or more moderate prices for comparative- 
ly immature pullets or yearling hens, neither of which can 
be expected to lay without several unproductive weeks 
of heavy feeding, with which delay the average back- 
yard poultry keeper is apt to be decidedly impatient. Un- 
der such conditions, Leghorn or Ancona pullets have a 
decided advantage owing to the fact that they come in- 
to laying at an earlier age than pullets of larger breeds, 
hence a higher average of maturity can usually be se- 
cured when buying in the open market. This means not 
only a saving in feed, but more fall eggs. Leghorn pul- 
lets, being comparatively small, should be cheaper than 
pullets of other breeds. 

Superior Merit of Standard Fowls 

Even though the poultry keeper may have no inten- 
tion of attempting to realize the largely increased revenue 
that always is possible to him through the sale of breed- 
ing stock and eggs for hatching from a well-bred flock, 
he cannot afford to take up even commercial poultry 
keeping with nonstandard fowls. Whether the basis of 
comparison is the productiveness of hens, cost of feed- 
ing, or uniformity of characters, external or hidden, the 
advantage invariably is with standard fowls. 

It is not denied that among fowls of inferior breed- 
ing there may be some. that will possess desirable char- 
acters in a marked degree, or that will prove good lay- 
ers. The proportion of such is small, however, and the 
uncertainty as to ability to transmit characters to off- 
spring makes their use in the breeding pen invariably 
disappointing. It is only by mating fowls whose an- 
cestors have been bred for generations towards a definite 
ideal, that there can be reasonable certainty of securing 
uniformity in appearance, productiveness, or any other 
desired character. And granting that many breeders 
have been more interested in developing and fixing 
special markings of feathers or other superficial charac- 
ters than in developing size or productiveness, the fact 
remains that the commercial poultry keeper who makes 
his start with fowls of mixed or mongrel breeding de- 
liberately handicaps himself, cuts his possible financial 
returns in two, or worse, and definitely sets himself back 
one, two, or more years as a successful poultry keeper. 

Brief Description of Popular Breeds 
Leghorns. Among commercial egg producers Leg- 
horns are highly popular and, as has already been stated, 
where eggs alone are desired they are much more efficient 
producers than fowls of the larger breeds. Storrs 
(Conn.) Bulletin 100, in analyzing five-year averages for 
the International Laying Contest, states that the number 
of eggs produced from each 100 pounds of feed consumed 
is 158 for Plymouth Rocks, 159 for Rhode Island Reds, 
182 for Wyandottes and 195 for White Leghorns. "In a 
similar manner the number of eggs required to pay for 
the feed for a pen of ten birds has been for the same 
breeds 721, 695, 645 and 627 respectively. It will thus 



WHAT THE BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPER WANTS TO KNOW ABOUT BREEDS 



77 



be apparent that when one considers the returns from 
100 pounds of feed rather than the return per individual, 
Leghorns are exceptionally efficient in the matter of egg 
production." 

If the comparison is on the basis of value of eggs 
returned for each dollar spent on feed, "Wyandottes and 
White Leghorns have been practically equal with $2.53 
and $2.58 respectively. Likewise, Plymouth Rocks and 
Rhode Island Reds have been very close .together with 
$2.15 and $2.18 respectively." 

The standard weight of the Leghorn cock is 5V2 
pounds and of the hen 4 pounds, though in average flocks 
weights usually will run somewhat below these. There 
are six varieties of Single Comb and three varieties of 
Rose Comb Leghorns recognized in the Standard. 

Anconas are practically mottled Leghorns and are 
becoming quite popular in recent years. There are strains 
of this breed that are highly productive, and to many 
the mottled plumage is especially attractive. The stand- 
ard weight of the Ancona cock is 5% pounds, hen, 4% 
pounds. There are Single and Rose Comb varieties. 

Minorcas are distinguished for the extra-large white 
eggs produced, and many who have a special egg trade 
which enables them to secure good premiums, find it 
profitable to keep fowls of this breed. There are six 
varieties of Single and Rose Comb Minorcas. The stand- 
ard weights of all varieties, except the Single Comb Black, 
are 8 pounds for the cock and 6% pounds for the hen. 
The Black weights are 1 pound heavier in each instance. 
The large size of the Minorca is some advantage when 
fowls are sold for table use but the white skin and black 
shanks of the Black Minorca are much against them, 
while their extremely large combs make them compara- 
tively unpopular where cold winters are to be expected. 

Wyandottes have always been greatly in favor with 
practical poultry keepers. Their fine bones and plump- 
ness, even as broilers, make them highly acceptable for 
market, especially among those who want table fowls of 
moderate size. At the Storrs Laying Contest Wyandottes 
were next to Leghorns in comparative efficiency in uti- 
lization of feed, and practically equal to them in value 

of eggs returned 
for each dollaj- 
spent in feed. 
There are eight 
varieties. The 
standard weight 
of the cock is 8% 
pounds, of the 
hen, 6V2 pounds. 
Rhode Island 
Reds have the 
same standard 
weights in adult 
fowls as the Wy- 
andottes. The 
typical Rhode 
Island Red is a 
longer fowl than 
the Wyandotte 
and is somewhat 
closer feathered. 
This breed i s 
PARKS' STRAIN PLYMOUTH ROCK WITH highlv popular in 
SWORN RECORD OF 325 EGGS „ " ,„ „f i.v„ 

IN 12 MONTHS a" P^^^^S of the 





BLACK ORPINGTON HEN WITH RECORD 
•^-F 335 EGGS IN ONE YEAR 

Thtb' remarkable hen made the above record 
:\t an Australian Egg Laying Contest. To the 
best of our knowledge this is the world's recorrl. 
Her eggs averaged 26.5 ounces to the dozen. 



country and probably is more generally kept in the South 
than any of the other general-purpose breeds. The rich 
color of good Reds is most attractive, and young fowls of 
this breed, when dressed, are largely free from discolora- 
tion due to dark 
or black pin- 
feathers. 

Plymouth 
Rocks are the 
largest of the 
American class, 
the cock weigh- 
ing 9% pounds 
and the hen 71/2 
pounds. Seven 
varieties are rec- 
ognized in the 
Standard. Noth- 
ing, apparently, 
can shake the 
general popular- 
ity of this breed, 
particularly o n 
farms and among 
those who want 
large market" , 

fowls. The cockerels make good broilers and as roasters 
and capons they are popular in practically all markets. 
At the First, Second and Third Vineland Contests Ply- 
mouth Rocks ranked next to Leghorns in productiveness. 
Fowls of this breed are apt to become overfat in their 
second year and thereafter when heavily fed, particularly 
in confinement, and for that reason require careful hand- 
ling. Where they receive proper treatment, however, 
just as good results can be secured with them as with the 
smaller breeds. 

Orpingtons are quite popular in England and Austra- 
lia as well as in this country. At numerous laying con- 
tests they have made excellent records, particularly in 
Australian contests. The world's record at present, to 
the best of our knowledge, is held by a Black Orpington 
hen that laid 335 eggs in 365 consecutive days in a recent 
Australian contest. Four varieties are recognized in the 
Standard and there are several nonstandard varieties. 
The average weight of the cock is 10 pounds, while that 
of the hen is 8 pounds. Where white skin and legs are 
not objectionable Orpingtons are highly popular. 

Brahmas and Langshans are not in great favor among 
back-yard poultry keepers. There are strains in both of 
the breeds that are highly productive but, as a rule, if 
bred to standard size they are not particularly good lay- 
ers, and the fowls require rather expert handling in order 
to give best returns. These fowls are striking in appear- 
ance and are great favorites among those who are more 
interested in breeding for exhibition than for production. 
The standard weight of the Light Brahma cock is 12 
pounds; hen, 9% pounds. The standard weight of Lang- 
shans is 91/2 pounds for the cock and 7V2 pounds for the 
hen, being the same as for Plymouth Rocks. 

POSSIBILITIES IN BREEDING STANDARD FOWLS 

Because of their beauty and the uniformity with which 
they can be bred within definite lines, and, on the other 
hand, the promptness with which changes or improve- 
ment in character may be secured, the breeding of stand- 
ard fowls is a fascinating pursuit. Thousands of men and 



78 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 



women in all parts of the country are giving their ear- 
nest attention to the particular breeding problems in 
which they are interested, which may be the improvement 
of barring or other markings in the feathers, securing a 
correct and attractive carriage, approaching more closely 
to the Standard's description of shape of body, increasing 
size, securing earlier maturity, developing greater egg 
production, etc. All of these qualities are capable of be- 
ing transmitted to succeeding generations and of being 
further developed and intensified. Just in proportion as 
the breeder is able to accomplish such results he becomes 
recognized as a skillful and successful breeder. 

How to Start 

Roomy quarters and ample range afford ideal condi- 
tions for breeding fowls, especially where large flocks are 
kept. Fortunately for the back-yard poultry keeper, how- 
ever, it is possible to take up poultry breeding successfully 
even in quite limited quarters. In point of fact, many of 
the greatest breeders the country has ever known have 




A BACK-YARD FLOCK OF PARKS' STRAIN PLYMOUTH 
ROCKS WITH REMARKABLE RECORD 

The pen of fowls illustratf^d above is owned by Prof. E. F. Grund- 
hofer of State College, Pa. Practically every hen in flock has a record of 
200 or more eggs in 12 months. Hen in middle, third from either right or 
left, has record of 313 eggs in that time. 

acquired their skill, established their strains, and produc- 
ed some of their greatest prize winners within the limited 
space of a back yard. The beginner, therefore, need have 
no fear of making a start even though he may have to 
do so under similar conditions. He will find that with a 
small flock he has one distinct advantage in being able 
to give closer attention to the breeding of individual birds. 

"Fancy" and "Utility" Breeds 

The prospective fancier has a much wider range of 
choice ifi selection of breed and variety than it is advisable 
for the commercial producer to exercise. Within reason- 
able limits he can and should consult his personal prefer- 
ence, keeping the breed in which he is mostly interested. 
Only by so doing is he likely to bring to the work the ab- 
sorbing interest and enthusiasm that makes the highest 
success possible. If without special preference, it is well 
to look into the home market requirements, also to learn 
what fowls are most successfully kept in the beginner's 
own locality. 

Among the 121 varieties of fowls now recognized in 
"The Standard of Perfection" there are a number that 
are regarded as having little value in commercial poultry 
keeping. In some of these, color combinations and uni- 
formity of feather markings have been carried to a truly 
wonderful extreme and simply as examples of the breed- 
er's art they fully justify their existence. They usually 



are known as "fancy" breeds, it being commonly believed 
that their peculiar characters have been secured at the 
expense of practical qualities, such as size, vigor or pro- 
ductiveness. 

If the beginner has a genuine interest in any of these 
breeds he should not hesitate in his choice because of their 
comparative unpopularity. He should, however, avoid the 
common error of selecting a new or comparatively un- 
known breed or variety merely because of the expectation 
that there will be less competition than in older or more 
popular ones. Occasionally this step proves to be success- 
ful when the breeder is able to establish himself quickly 
as a leader in his line. Generally, however, while there 
may be less competition there is also a limited market. 
For most persons it is more practical to develop a strain 
of superior quality in one of the "useful" breeds. The 
best opportunity for profit that the average breeder has 
today is in doing this, choosing the variety which most 
appeals to him, either on account of its color or other char- 
acteristics, and then striving to develop a strain which 
will be distinguished not only for its showroom qualities 
but also for its commercial value in the production of 
eggs or superior-quality table fowls. In general, the be- 
ginner will make no mistake in selecting any of the breeds 
that answer the foregoing description, though location, 
climate, market, etc., must be considered. Fowls of the 
different breeds have qualities that often fit them pecu- 
liarly for meeting certain conditions. Whatever breed 
is chosen, the beginner should get the best foundation 
stock that he can afford to buy. If not able to spend a 
large sum, the start may be made -with only a small 
breeding pen or even a few eggs for hatching, or with 
day old chicks. But whatever is bought, it should be of 
superior quality. To start with inferior stock means 
years of lost time and, in the end, much greater expense 
than to start right at first. 

The beginner who is starting to breed systematically 
for improvement in "utility" qualities needs to be con- 
stantly on guard against the tendency to allow these to 
overshadow in importance, the true standard qualities 
that are the foundation of permanently successful breed- 
ing in any breed. It is proper and highly desirable 
that productiveness, weight of body, etc., should receive 
especial attention in utility breeds, but' it is not desirable 
to let this lead to deterioration in standard qualities. 
The breeder who concentrates his efforts solely on egg 
production is no more "practical" than the one who goes 
to the other extreme and breeds for color or feather 
markings regardless of the productive capacity of his 
fowls. Both will fail in establishing desirable permanent 
strains, and both stand in their own light a& to financial 
returns. 

That a combination of showroom qualities and high 
productiveness is possible has been demonstrated so often 
that it is no longer a debatable question. The individual 
breeder may or may not vrish to make the effort; he may 
or may not have the breadth of vision or the interest 
necessary to grasp both sides of the problem; but it caw 
be done and has been done, not once but in hundreds of 
flocks. The beginner who aims at a practical combina- 
tion of standard quality and high productiveness will suc- 
ceed in proportion to the skill and persistence which he 
employs. And for good stock of such breeding there is a 
never-failing demand. 



CHAPTER XIII 



Mating and Management of Breeding Flock 

Relative Advantages of Different Methods of Breeding and Mating Briefly but Clearly Explained — Why Inbreeding 
Is Recommended and How It Should Be Practiced — Instructions for Handling Breeding Fowls in Sum- 
mer, and Special Methods of Caring for Growing Stock Intended for the Breeding Pen 




T IS IMPOSSIBLE to give in these pages full 
details regarding the numerous questions relat- 
ing to the mating and everyday management 
of the breeding flock. All that can be attempt- 
ed here is to explain breeding methods com- 
monly used and give some general instructions in manage- 
ment so that the beginner may start right and may 
continue the development of his flock with a reason- 
ably clear understanding of what should be done and how 
he may go about doing it. He should proceed without de- 
lay, however, to secure more complete information on all 
the various phases of this branch of the industry, if he 
hopes to be truly successful. In Reliable Poultry Journal 
Company's new book, "Fundamentals of Poultry Breeding," 
will be found complete information on all branches of this 
subject and we can do the earnest breeder no greater ser- 
vice along this line than to direct his attention to this 
invaluable work. 

Methods of Breeding 

Breeding Unrelated Fowls. The simplest and most 
common form of breeding, especially among beginners, is 
that in which unrelated males and females of standard 
quality are mated on their general appearance. This sys- 
tem of breeding is comparatively simple and easy, and if 
the fowls "nick" well excellent results may be secured. 
However, unless the breeder happens to have an exception- 
al breeding male, one that is characterized by "prepoten- 
cy" and thus capable of stamping his characters upon all 
or most of his offspring, the result of such a mating will 
be more or less uncertain so far as high exhibition quality 
is concerned. Where the breeder is satisfied to have a 
standard-bred flock of good quality, but with little pros- 
pect of producing high-class exhibition stock, this method 
of breeding is safe and practical. It is the way in which 
the majority of fair to good standard flocks have been 
developed. 

Line Breeding. The term line breeding means or 
should mean that breeding is restricted to the selection and 
mating of individuals of a single line of diescent — in other 
words, the mating of related fowls. When line breeding 
is carried to the extreme and CLOSELY related individ- 
uals are mated it then becomes inbreeding. It is true that 
poultrymen are not agreed upon deflnitions for line breed- 
ing and inbreeding and by many the two terms are used 
more or less interchangeably. The definitions that have 
just been given are substantially as found in Davenport's 
"Principles of Breeding," a textbook in use in practically 
every agricultural college in the Unit-ed States, and they 
represent the common use of these terms among live-stock 
breeders generally. 

Line breeding, judicially employed, enables the breed- 
er to perpetuate indefinitely the good qualities of an es- 
pecially desirable individual and to develop a definite 
strain strongly marked by ability to reproduce its peculiar 
characters and to intensify and improve them. While 
line breeding usually starts with close inbreeding, most 



breeders get away from close relationship matings as 
quickly as they can do so without weakening the charac- 
ters they wish to perpetuate or develop. 

Inbreeding is popularly believed to result in rapid 
degeneration, and where it is practiced without careful 
selection and proper safeguards the results often justi- 
fy this belief. So far as poultry breeding is concerned, 
however, there is no "curse" on inbreeding and nothing 
mysterious about the results secured, whether good or 
bad. Inbreeding simply intensifies the characters common 
to both male and female, weak characters as well as 
desirable ones. Hence, if male and female have a common 
weakness or tendency to disease, as is apt to be the case 
in closely related birds, inbreeding may and often does 
prove disastrous. If breeders are careful to cull their 
breeding flocks, however, discarding every fowl that is 
not in first-class breeding condition, they can practice in- 
breeding indefinitely wdthout injuring the health and vigor 
of their fowls. 

It is not necessary here to go into the practical details 
of inbreeding, or its dangers and how to avoid them. It 
is enough for the present need of the beginner to get 
these facts clearly fixed in his mind: 

If he has fowls of exceptional quality the best 

way of perpetuating them is to breed them back 

to their own offspring, as sire to daughter or 

dam to son. 

If the fowls mated are strong and vigorous, 

their offspring will also be strong. 

Inbreeding carelessly practiced will sooner or 

later justify the popular prejudice against it. 

Indiscriminate Inbreeding. There is one method of 
inbreeding, which may be called indiscriminate inbreeding 
for lack of a better name, that is entitled to more serious 
attention than it often receives from the beginner. This 
method, which has the approval of some well-posted breed- 
ers, consists simply in confining breeding operations with- 
in a given strain or "line" but emtirely ignoring the degree 
of relationship — that is, mating the fowls to the be«t 
apparent advantage, regardless of whether they are close- 
ly akin or not. In a flock of fair size such a method will 
result in a limited amount of close inbreeding, but there 
is no reason to believe that, in the long run, fowls so 
produced will necessarily be inferior in vigor to the most 
elaborately line-bred fowls. 

It is not to be expected, of course, that any other 
method wrill produce fowls equal in quality to those se- 
cured in painstaking line breeding. But not every one 
will care to secure high quality at such a price, and there 
are thousands of beginners who, when confronted with 
the complications of that method, will throw up their 
hands in despair. It should be encouraging to these, 
therefore, to realize that they can keep their strains pure, 
and can realize many of the advantages of inbreeding 
without endangering the health of their fowls and at the 
same time may greatly simplify the details of care and 
management. 

79 



80 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 




■* J)jii?' 



HEAVY-LAYING EXHIBITION QUALITY 
S. C. RHODE ISLAND RED 

That heavy-laying ability may be success- 
fully combined with standard qualities is clearly 
illustrated by the hen shown above, which won 
hist prize, shape and color specials, and was 
champion female at Rochester Show in 1917 
That year she laid 20S eggs, the following, 311 
and the third year, 2S9, a total of 898 eggs in 
three years. Sire and dam wore both New Yo^t^ 
winners. Is property of I^ester Tompkins, Conn. 



Perhaps as fair a statement of the relative values of 
the two systems as can be given is to say that for the 
highest development and improvement in fowls — for defin- 
ite strain build- 
ing — line breed- 
ing is indispens- 
able. But for 
those whose am- 
bitions are more 
modest indiscrim- 
inate inbreeding 
may fully answer 
their purpose. In 
fact, it may be 
doubted whether 
the average be- 
ginner will have 
anything more to 
show for the la- 
bor and involved 
record keeping of 
systematic line 
breeding than he 
could achieve 
with much less 
trouble and ex- 
pense by simpler 
methods. At the 
risk of repeti- 
tion, however, it 
should be clearly 
stated that, in either method, slackness in selection or 
carelessness in using fowls in any way inferior in vigor 
will soon bring loss and disaster. 

Methods of IVIating 

It would not be fair to the beginner to represent 
mating of fowls as an easy or simple matter. On the 
contrary, if he can do so, it will be much better for him 
to secure the help of an experienced breeder rather than 
attempt to do it himself. Correct mating is vitally im- 
portant to his future success, and at no other point does 
the beginner need expert advice as he needs it here. If 
he can secure such assistance he will find that the expert, 
after carefully looking over his fowls, will definitely dis- 
card such as have marked or conspicuous defects and 
which therefore should not remain in the breeding pen 
under any condition. The description of ideal fowls 
given in the "Standard of Perfection" will be his guide 
in doing this. 

Compensation IMatings. If he does not find it out be- 
fore, the beginner discovers when he comes to mate his 
fowls that the best he has fall short of measuring up to 
the ideal for the breed. This should not unduly dis- 
courage him, however, as the 100-per-cent fowl has never 
yet been produced. In the finest flock there are only a 
few that get very close to standard requirements, and 
all breeders, leaders and beginners alike, have the same 
general problem to solve — how best to mate up the fowls 
they have, so that some improvement will be effected 
year by year, or so that at least there shall be no falling 
off in quality. 

Practically all breeders, therefore, make more or less 
use of "compensation matings," which consist, in brief, 
in "matching" the fowls so that certain defects in one 
vvnll be balanced by corresponding strength in another. It 



is expected that the effect of such mating will be to 
"strike an average," making the offspring nearer to 
standard description, in these respects, than either sire or 
dam.' This method is most successful where the defects 
to be negotiated are of minor character. Where strongly 
marked defects are matched the stock produced will in- 
clude individuals of both types, with others showing more 
or less imperfect blending. Therefore, the experienced 
breeder matches slight differences but avoids strongly 
contrasted characters. 

Pen and Flock Matings. A single male mated to a 
selected flock of females gives what is generally termed 
a pen mating. This is regularly practiced in careful sys- 
tematic breeding, whether line breeding is followed or not. 
The method requires a separate pen for each small flock 
and, where many fowls are to be mated, involves a rela- 
tively heavy labor cost in caring for them. It also de- 
mands comparatively expensive housing. For this reason, 
where only medium quality is aimed at, as in commercial 
poultry breeding generally, it is customary to mate up 
regular laying flocks, numbering from fifty to several 
hundred females, providing males in about the proportions 
iiidicated in the table presented herewith and allowing all 
to run together. This is flock mating. Obviously, it must 
be inferior to pen mating in quality of the stock to be 
produced, but it is practical and desirable where low-cost 
production is important. 

Single and Double Mating. The term "single mating" 
is applied to the method of breeding practiced where males 
and females of equal quality can be produced from the 
same mating. For example, a pen of White Wyandottes, 
if properly mated, should produce equally good standard 
quality in both males and females. In the case of some 
breeds and varieties, however, equal quality in males and 
females cannot be produced by one mating. To use the 
classic illustration of Barred Plymouth Rocks, the off- 
spring from a pen of what are known as "standard" fowls 
of this variety will rarely be of standard color, but the 
females will regularly be darker than the ideal and the 
males lighter. To produce cockerels of "standard color" 
in this variety it is customary to mate darker-than- 
standard females with a standard-colored or medium-dark 
male. This is what is meant by a "cockerel mating." To 
get standard females, a decidedly light male may be used 
on standard-colored females. This is termed "pullet mat- 
ing." The general system is termed "double mating," 
since two matings or pens always are required in order to 
produce a standard-colored pair, as described in the 
"Standard of Perfection." 

Propotency 

As compared with the results secured in breeding av- 
erage or nonstandard flocks, standard-bred fowls regularly 
show a high degree of uniformity in characters, especially 
as regards general appearance. To the closely observant 
breeder, however, even standard fowls exhibit a tendency 
to a good deal of irregularity in this respect. Especially 
in breeding unrelated fowls, there always is some uncer- 
tainty in regard to whether a good percentage of their 
offspring will closely resemble either sire or dam. This is 
because fowls are not equal in ability to transmit qualities, 
good or bad. The results of various matings display wide 
variations in this respect. Certain individuals appear 
now and then, however, that show remarkable capacity 
for stamping their characters upon their offspring. The 
ability to do this is called "prepotency." The nature of 



MATING AND MANAGEMENT OF BREEDING FLOCK 



8J 



prepotency and the methods by which it may be secured 
and intensified, are by no means clearly understood. It 
is believed, however, that purity of breeding is an im- 
portant factor; hence line-bred fowls in which purity of 
breeding is most marked, are thought to be particularly 
prepotent, thus explaining the uniformly better results 
secured with them. 

Trap Nesting 

In all line breeding, and in the production of pedi- 
greed stock generally, it is necessary for the breeder to 
be able certainly to identify the eggs laid by each hen, 
at least during the breeding season. Where fowls are 
bred for increased egg production, the eggs laid by each 
pullet or hen must be identified the year around. To do 
this the breeder provides trap nests. These are so ar- 
ranged that only one hen can enter at a time and, once 
in, she cannot get out until released by the attendant who, 
in doing this, marks the egg with the hen's leg-band 
number. By keeping each hen's eggs separate at hatch- 
ing time and suitably banding the chicks, the breeder is 
able to keep an accurate record of the ancestry of each 
individual in his flock. Such information is indispensable 
in systematic breeding. 

Whether a given individual should practice trap nest- 
ing or not, depends largely on the character of his breed- 
ing operations. Aside from satisfying one's natural 
curiosity as to the productiveness of his hens and afford- 
ing opportunity to discard the poor layers, it is doubtful 
whether trap nesting is of any special value to the av- 
erage breeder, since the use that he will be able to make 
of the information gained will rarely be worth what it 
cost him to acquire it. Each breeder must decide this 
for himself, but it should be clearly understood that 
trap-nesting large numbers of fowls is decidedly expen- 
sive, also it is worthless from a practical standpoint 
unless it is regularly and systematically carried out. 

Constitutional Vigor 

The importance of constitutional vigor in fowls has 
Already been briefly referred to, but those who contem- 
plate inbreeding or line breeding must give especial at- 



tention to it. Whether inbred or not, fowls are gener- 
ally kept under highly artificial conditions and subject to 
treatment tending directly to undermine their health. 
Vigor, therefore, must receive constant attention in the 
breeding flock, if good sound health is to be maintained. 
I.arge hatches, strong chicks, reduced losses in brooders 
and on range, capacity to digest large quantities of 
feed and turn it into market eggs in profitable numbers 
— these and numerous other important factors in real 
success are dependent almost directly upon the attention 
given to securing high constitutional vigor in the flock. 
Much can be done to conserve vigor by proper feeding of 
the breeding stock, providing abundant exercise and see- 
ing to it that the eggs are hatched and the chicks brooded 
under the most favorable conditions, but the best efforts 
that can be put forth along these lines will bring but 
a moderate degree of success if the breeding stock is 
naturally deficient in this important character. 

Proportion in Which to Male 

The number of females that can be mated with a male, 
with reasonable assurance of securing good fertility, will 
depend on the breed, the season and the individuality of 
of the male. In the natural breeding season and with the 
fowls on open range, excellent fertility has been secured in 
flocks of forty or more hens and pullets mated to a single 
cockerel, even in flocks of the larger breeds. On the 
other hand, with fowls in close confinement and using old 
males, it often is found necessary to reduce the number to 
5 or 6 in order to secure high fertility. In general, the pro- 
portions given herewith may be accepted as fair averages. 
It may be necessary to reduce these numbers under some 
conditions, particularly with fowls in close confinement 
in cold weather, while they may be increased in excep- 
tional cases where it is desirable to do so. 

NUMBER OF FEMALES TO ONE MALE 

Goneral-purpo.sc l.reeds in confinciripnt -. Mate S females with cock 

General-purpose breeds in confinement-- Mate 10 females with cockerel 

General-purpose breeds on range- -Mate 10-1? females with cock 

General-purpose breeds on range Mate 12-l.i females with cockerel 

Leghorns in confinement .. .. Mate 12-l.S females with coclv 

Leghorns in confinement Mate l.j-20 females with cockerel 

Leghorns on range -.- -- iVlate l.j-20 females with cock 

Lcidiorns "M laiige .--Mate 20-25 females with ^ckerel 




.SCENE 0.\ B.A.CK-YARD PLANT WHERE SEVERAL BREEDING PENS ARE KEPT 



82 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 



Production of Hatching Eggs and Day-Old Chicks 

Assuming that the beginner has successfully nego- 
tiated the various questions in regard to the mating of 
fowls, he still has a few problems of a practical nature 
to consider before he will be ready to begin saving eggs 
for hatching, either for his own use or to fill the orders 
which he expects to receive from the public. 

Fertility 

Strictly speaking, an egg is fertile when the female 
germ (present in every egg) has foimed a union with 
the male sperm. From that time on we have to deal 
with an embryo— of microscopic proportions until the egg 
has been incubated for some hours, but an embryo nev- 
ertheless. In this sense fertility is a general character 
in eggs produced by properly mated fowls, where no or- 
ganic defects are present on either side. That is to say, 
practically all eggs laid by such fowls are fertile, regard- 
less of the season and regardless also of whether they will 
hatch or not. 

Not because it is an exact way to classify them but 
merely as a matter of convenience, it generally is assum- 
ed in practice that eggs are not fertile unless, when ex- 




THE WHOLE FAMILY FINDS INTEREST AND PLEASURE IN A 
WELL-BRED FLOCK 

posed to proper incubating temperature, the embryos de- 
velop to a point where they can be detected by the use of 
an egg tester. Many eggs that are fertile, strictly speak- 
ing, never make such development. Failure to do this 
may be due to a variety of causes ranging from physical 
weakness in the breeding stock through every kind of 
improper handling of the eggs or exposure to injurious 
temperatures, up to and including the first stages of incu- 
bation. In some instances total infertility is due to or- 
ganic defects, sterility in males being more common than 
is generally realized. 

Hatchability 

This has to do with the vigor of the fertilized germ 
or embryo. Not all- fertile eggs hatch. The percentage 
that do so is determined by a number of factors. Some 
fowls regularly produce eggs of a higher hatching power 
than do others in the same pen. This is due to the fact 
that hatchability is an inherited character, like the capac- 
ity for heavy egg production. This fact has been so 
clearly established that many careful breeders consider 
it worth while to test out and remove from the pen fe- 
males that produce eggs of marked inferiority in this 



respect. Low hatchability also may result from keeping 
the breeding fowls under unfavorable conditions, or may 
be due to poor rations, insufficient exercise, mating too 
many females with one male, also to improper handling 
of eggs before or during incubation — to anything, in fact, 
that may weaken or injuriously aflFect the embryo. 

Management of Breeding Pens 

During the regular breeding season there is compar- 
atively little difference in the general feeding and man- 
aging of breeders as compared with that given the laying 
pens, aside from the fact that the former should have 
more houseroom or floor space per bird and should, in 
general, receive the caretaker's best attention. About 
the same rations should be given to breeders during the 
breeding season as the laying flock receives, but feeding 
for heavy production should be avoided, particularly if 
it is intended to save eggs for hatching from the flock 
throughout a long season. In a general way, the breeders 
should have conservative treatment and feeding, but at 
almost any cost see that they have an abundance of ex- 
ercise — probably the most important detail in their man- 
agement. With the right kind of stock properly mated 
and brought to the breeding season in prime condition, 
good production and high fertility are practically assured. 

Summer Management of Breeding Stock 

Breeding fowls often suffer serious injury through 
neglect during the nonproductive period. When the hens 
are laying heavily and their eggs are selling at good 
prices, enthusiasm runs high and it is a pleasure rather 
than a task to give them the care and attention necessary 
to keep them in first-class condition. But when the breed- 
ing season is over and production falls off or entirely 
stops, too often the birds are left to shift for themselves 
under highly unfavorable conditions, so that instead of 
building up health and vigor they become still further 
weakened, losses are heavy and results realized from 
the survivors the next season are disappointing and un- 
profitable. It is not necessary to make the care of breed- 
ing stock a burden, but fowls that for several months have 
been supplying valuable hatching eggs and are expected 
to do so again the following year, certainly are entitled 
to something more than neglect during the rest period. 

After the breeding season is over the fowls should be 
given free range if it is possible to do so. Exercise is, 
beyond question, the best conditioner for fowls, and breed- 
ing birds cannot have too much. If they must remain in 
their regular quarters and be confined to yards, at least 
make their quarters as comfortable as possible. It is not 
advisable to feed for egg production after the breeding 
season, though if the hens persist in laying on ordinary 
rations do not try to stop them by starving or by making 
violent changes in the feeding. Males that are not to be 
kept over for the next season's use should, of course, be 
disposed of immediately at the close of the breeding sea- 
son. The desirability of isolating the males that are to 
be carried over depends upon the conditions under which 
they are to be kept. Where there are a number of these 
and they can be properly cared for, it is well to separate 
them from the hens. But if isolation means that they are 
to be closely confined to uncomfortable, unsanitary houses 
with small, bare yards, and neglected in their feeding and 
general care, as is far too often the ease, then it will be 
a great deal better to let them run vrith the flock. 



CHAPTER XIV 



Successful Methods of Breeding Exhibition Fowls 

Experienced Back-Yard Breeders Tell How They Breed Standard Fowl of Exhibition Quality — Useful and Ornamental 

Breeds AUke Can Be Kept — These Reports Show that from Partridge Cochins to Leghorns 

Complete Success May Be Realized Where Proper Care Is Given 




HE EXPERIENCE of George W. Mitchell, 
veteran breeder of Partridge Cochins, is an ex- 
cellent illustration of what may done within 
the narrow limits of a back yard in producing 
superior-quality standard poultry. For forty 
years Mr. Mitchell has been a leader in breeding Partridge 
Cochins and during all of this time, up to 1910, his breed- 
ing operations were conducted within a yard 100 feet 
square. Since 1910 the space available for his poultry 
flock has been limited to only 40 by 100 feet. Naturally, 
he does not try to raise large numbers, but his stock is 
of unsurpassed quality. For example, during 1919 he 
raised 60 birds from which number he picked out a string 
for exhibition at the Boston Show that captured all but 
two of the top prizes, his winnings being cock 1, 2, 3; 
bens 2, 3, 4; cockerels 1, 2; pullets 1, 2, 3; first old pen; 
first young pen. These winnings were made in good-sized 
classes in strong competition. In a personal letter from 
Mr. Mitchell to the writer the following details are given 
in regard to the conditions under which his fowls have 
been kept and bred. 

"From March, 1887, until the spring of 1910, were the 
years covering the time when we were most actively en- 
gaged, and making annual exhibitions at both New York 
and Boston. My birds were all housed and raised on my 
home lot in the heart of our city and only about five 
minutes walk from the railway station, post office and 
business center, and during all this time only occupied 
space 100 by 100 feet, on which were the main house 
of 16 by 60 feet and five houses 8 by 12 feet, together 
with a brooder house and incubator cellar, each of the 
latter being separate from each other, and the necessary 
runs for each house. The main house, 16 by 60 feet, was 
two stories in height, the upper story being fitted into 
a complete exhibition and training room, having single 
wire coops the entire length on the nortJi side. On the 
south side, with suitable aisle between, were pens about 
4 by 8 feet where exhibition pens could be trained and 
the others used to give the birds in the single coops a 
chance to exercise as seemed necessary. This room, like 
the lower story, was provided vidth electric lights and 
was arranged so that it could be heated. Both the lower 
and upper floors were piped with running water and had 
every convenience for handling and feeding, and under 
the single coops were pens 2% by 4 feet vrith gates 
opening outward, for sitting hens. These worked very 
nicely as the coops were placed the same height as at 
New York and Boston Exhibitions. From 1910 until the 
last season we bred in a very quiet way and not until 
the last Boston Show did we exhibit extensively. 

"In the spring of 1910 the lower part of the main 
house, 16 by 60 feet, was converted into a garage and 
from that time the birds have had 40 by 100 feet, the 
brooder house and incubator cellars being done away 
with, and we have since used but the five smaller houses 
together with the exhibition room over the main house. 



I am quite sure that the quality of our birds at the 
late Boston Exhibition was of such a nature as to show 
that they can be successfully bred, raised and suitably 
matured on a city back-yard poultry lot, our success 
being wholly owing to the attention we were able to give 
to each chick, carrying out my idea that 'the most es- 
sential thing to understand is the necessary handling 
of each individual bird.' " 



Prize Stock Produced on City Lot* 

Used Lot 75 by 132 Feet in Residence District of City of 
86,000 Inhabitants — Invested in High-Class Ex- 
hibition Stock and Produced Blue 
Ribbon Winners 

By M. L. DUDLEY, Iowa 

X LIVE on a lot 75 by 132 feet, where there are no 
-*■ vacant lots, in one of the principal residence districts 
of Des Moines, Iowa. During the fall of 1910, I began to 
think of buying some chickens. I made the chicken bus- 
iness a study and determined to have as good a lot of 
birds as could be procured. After looking the field over 
I decided upon White Plymouth Rocks as being the best 
for all purposes, and concluded to raise them. 

I bought eleven pullets from a strain that had taken 
17 first and 16 second prizes at recent Iowa State Fairs 
and had carried off the laurels at numerous winter shows. 
This strain is of unusual egg productinon. I then found 
a male bird from a strain that had carried off the prin- 
cipal prizes at the World's Fair in Seattle in 1910, and 
that came from a trap-nested hen that had laid 225 eggs 
per year. Chickens of this grade cost more money to 
begin with than inferior ones, but after the first outlay 
they are no more expensive. The owner has birds of 
which he is proud and, when properly handled, they may 
be made highly profitable. 

I bought these chickens in January, 1911, and placed 
them in a small double-deck house, which I built. Early in 
the spring I fenced off a chicken yard, 35 by 35 feet, and 
built an open-front house, 10 by 20 feet, with cement 
floor, using four feet of one end to keep feed in. I 
bought a 70-egg Cyphers Incubator and hatched 110 
chicks, raising 107 of them to maturity. 

In the fall I divided the open-front house into three 
apartments, providing yards for each, and built another 
yard, 8 by 12 feet, back of my first house. In January 
I bought three male birds of excellent quality, which, 
with the one I had, I mated with my pullets, giving me 
four good breeding pens. The eggs from these matings 
hatched well and produced vigorous chicks. 

During the fall and winter of 1911-1912 I sold 35 
cockerels for breeding purposes at prices ranging from 
$2.50 to ?5.00 each, and during the hatching season of 
1912 made satisfactory sales of eggs at $2.50 to $3.50 
per sitting of fifteen. 

*Conden8ed from "Reports of Successful Poultry Growers." 

«3 



84 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 



Birds Were First Prize Winners 

I exhibited one pen of 4 pullets and 1 cockerel, a sin- 
gle cockerel and a single pullet at the Iowa Poultry Asso- 
ciation Show at Des Moines, Iowa, in January, 1912. 
While I did not get a good wash on them, it being my 
first experience, out of 7 pens exhibited I took third and 
seventh prizes on cockerels (eighteen cockerels compet- 
ing), and a cockerel I sold the previous fall took first. In 
February, 1912, I hatched 210 chicks with equally as good 
results as in 1911. 

In August, 1912, I exhibited at the Iowa State Fair 
some of my March and April hatch of pullets and cocker- 
els and took 1st on pen, 1st on cockerel, and 1st on pullet. 

The latter part of August, 1912, I sold 8 hens at $2.75 
each, two April-hatched cockerels at $2.50 each, five 
April-hatched pullets at $2 each and one cock at $14. I 
now have left 160 old and young chickens, which are 
worth on an average at least $2.50 each. I have kept an 
account of all receipts and expenditures, as follows: 
Receipts 

For chickens and eggs S 391.06 

Value of house and equipment .. 153.98 

160 chicliens at $2.50 each _ _ _ 400.00 

Total - S 945.04 

Expenditures 

Cost of chicken house, fence and equipment S 153.98 

Fee for exhibit at Iowa Poultry Association Show 5.00 

Chickens bought 61. 94 

For scoring chickens 6.75 

Exhibit at Iowa State Fair 9.00 

Advertising and postage .. 26. 05 

Feed to Sept. 10, 1912 _.. 242.01 

Total S 604.73 

Net Profit $ 440.31 



Poultry Breeding As a Side Line Yields 
&l,000to&l,800* 

Well-Known Breeder of White Wyandottes Tells How He 

Started and How His Success Was Achieved — He 

Had the Right Kind of Stock and Gave the 

Birds Proper Quarters, Feed and Care 

By J. W. Andrews, Massachusetts 

A/| Y EXPERIENCE with poultry covers more than 

•^^■* thirty years and I have bred White Wyandottes for 

over twenty years. Since I was a small child I have been 

interested in poultry. When but ten years of age, my 

^'^From March, 1915, issue of Reliable Poultry Journal. 



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LAYOUT OF A FLORIDA POULTRY KEEPER'S BACK-YARD PLANT 



The owner of this plant, while holding his regular position as telegraph operator gradually built up 
a well-bred flock of R. I. Reds in his back yard and developed a profitable trade in baby chicks and eggs 
for hatching. Net profits in one year amounted to over SG50. He began with less than SlOO capital, and 
at no time had more than 100 hens on his plant. Illustration reproduced from "Reports of Successful 
Poultry Growers." 



father built a small house for me and gave me ten hens, 
with the warning that if they did not receive good care, 
I would lose them. 

They were a lot of mongrels, but from the beginning 
they laid well and paid me a good profit. Needless to 
say, they received the very best of care, for I did not 
want to lose them. I was dissatisfied with these birds 
however, and wanted a flock all of one kind. Finally I 
bought from a well-known breeder, thirty White Wyan- 
dotte eggs for $5, and have never regretted my choice. 

My parents thought I was spending money recklessly 
when I first bought eggs and paid such a price, for no 
one at that time paid over fifty cents a sitting for eggs 
around where we lived in Massachusetts. When I bought 
a cockerel and paid $10 for it, they said I needed some one 
to look after my money for me. However, it was money 
that the hens had earned for me and I thought I had a 
right to invest it to improve my poultry. The extra prices 
paid for my stock and eggs soon proved it to be a paying 
investment. I decided to do a little advertising and in- 
serted a four-line advertisement in one of the poultry 
papers, asking $1.50 for 15 eggs or $8.00 per 
hundred, and sold all the eggs I could spare, receiving 
for them about $160. 

The next fall some of my birds were shown at 
the R. I. State Fair, which was one of the largest, and I 
won first prize on a cock bird which I traded for a very 
white bird that did not get a ribbon on account of a 
black feather in his hackle, but he was of the stay-white 
kind and was great in shape. Real white birds at that 
time were very scarce and this male having this quality 
which my flock lacked, proved to be a great help to me at 
that time. My fowls, while very good in shape and size, 
were creamy and brassy. The male mentioned above 
proved to be a great breeder of very white birds and as 
there were not many white ones being shown, it helped me 
a great deal when I showed my stock again, for my birds 
were white. The following season I showed at the Bristol 
County Fair, The Rhode Island State Fair, Providence 
and Fall River, and won nearly all the first prizes. 

The Demand Increases 

My stock and eggs now began to be in demand and I 
had no trouble in getting $3.00 for 15 eggs and sold 
breeders at good prices, being offered 
$25 for a cockerel which won first 
at Pi'ovidence, but I refused the 
tempting offer, though it was a long 
price for a male at that time. He 
proved to be a great breeder and 
helped to sell eggs for me on account 
of being in my yards. That year I 
made a profit of over $400 from about 
45 breeders, and I raised nearly 100 
chicks. My birds were exhibited at 
the shows mentioned above every 
year and continued to win well. Since 
1897 I have shovsm at Boston every 
year but one, and have never failed to 
win a good share of the prizes. As 
my Boston winnings began to in- 
crease, the demand for my strain of 
birds began to increase and I have 
been able to realize good prices for 
my birds and have had no trouble 



OPEN rf^ONT ROOSTING 
SH£0 SOXIOF££.T. 



THIS SPACE USeO FOfk 

aRoopen coops amd 

PORTABLE RVN& 






SUCCESSFUL METHODS OF BREEDING EXHIBITION FOWLS 



85 



in selling all my hatching eggs for more than three 
times the sum I received at first. I have also sev- 
eral times sold cockerels at $150 each and last year 
thirty show birds brought me $1,500, averaging $50 each. 
For the past seven years I have realized a profit better 
than $1,000 a year and one year it went as high as $1,800. 
The fancy poultry business is not my main business, 
as I am connected with a retail grocery and keep poultry 
as a side line. I have two acres of land and generally 
keep about 70 females to breed and I raise from 125 to 
150 chickens, besides having a few raised on a farm for 
me. I do all the work myself, except that T have a boy 
to clean the houses. 



A Woman's Success With Standard Fowls 

Has Been a Successful Raiser of Fowls in Ornamental 

Class for Many Years and Finds the Work 

Both Pleasant and Profitable 

By ALICE CLEVELAND GARDNER, Massachusetts 

'■■"" WENTY years ago I did not know one hen from an- 
-* other, but think I must have had an inherited love of 
poultry. About a dozen years ago I had a very frail 
little son who did not take kindly to milk and the next 
best thing was chicken broth, so I kept a few hens so 
as always to have fresh fowls and eggs for table use. 
Also, the outdoor interest was good for both the little 
boy and myself. 

Very soon I became interested in purebred poultry 
and poultry shows. From the very first I secured many 
prizes, beginning with small shows. Now I have over one 
hundred ribbons, including Boston and Madison Square. 
When I kept more fowls than I could care for I hired 
boys who were trying to earn their way through school. 
From my years of bookkeeping I should say that if one 
depends on hired help at least all of the money from 
fancy sales is clear profit. To make a profit from utility 
poultry alone one must do most of the work unless carried 
on on a large scale. 

Like most beginners I tried several breeds, always 
having some bantams, especially the Japanese. At pres- 
ent I have the Japanese Silkies. As the care of fowls and 
careful culling year after year have had more to do with 
the profits than any special breed, I could not advise any 
particular breed. Personally, I find the Silkies profitable 
for they are small eaters, lay a good-sized egg, and many 
of them, also as sitters and mothers for chicks from fan- 
cy eggs, they are invaluable. 

The Salmon Faverolles are the breed I have kept year 
after year. I like their odd appearance and they are 
always singing and contented in the worst weather con- 
ditions. I have letters of inquiry for stock and eggs 
from Maine to California, also Canada, and could always 
sell more than I have to spare at fancy prices. 

As I have done tutoring, Sunday School work and 
Red Cross work in addition to my housework, chickens 
have been a side line with me. As such I know they are 
profitable if one has a love for them and patience enough to 
give proper attention to details. I have faith enough in it 
to plan for more and better poultry, for I believe there 
will be a great demand, now the war is over. My spe- 
cialty will be bearded and crested fowls. 



Back-Yard Poultry Plant Yields S3.800* 

Nearly Four Thousand Dollars in One Year From a Back- 
Yard Flock of Standard-Bred S. C. R. L Reds 
Proves That Money Can Be Made Breed- 
ing Standard Fowls in Close Quarters 

By MRS. E. W. MAHOOD, Missouri 
17 OR SEVERAL years we kept poultry on a suburban 
*- lot 150 by 180 feet in size, with good success. It has 
occurred to me that I may be able to make some sugges- 
tions which will help those who are now beginning to 
keep a few chickens on town or city lots, in response to 




MRS. MAHOOD'S BACK-YARD POULTRY HOUSE 

House here illustrated is described by Mrs. Mahood and is one that was 
occupied by breeding fowls the year her poultry operations yielded S3, 800. 

their country's appeal to produce as much meat and as 
many eggs as possible, as well as from motives of economy. 

To begin with, it is not necessary to build a fancy or 
expensive poultry house. Almost any outhouse can be 
converted into a practical poultry house. The main things 
to insist on are plenty of light and fresh air and a house 
that is closely enough built not be drafty or damp. A 
house with all of these qualifications is a good and prac- 
tical poultry house. 

Many building a poultry house make the mistake of 
building one too high. We did this with our first house 
and as a result the animal heat of the birds was not re- 
tained when on their roosts at night and the male birds' 
combs were badly frozen. Also, we soon learned that a 
floor in the poultry house for laying or breeding stock 
is an unnecessary expense. The chickens are really bet- 
ter off with a dirt floor and plenty of litter. Often, how- 
ever, it is necessary to raise this floor by throwing in more 
dirt, in order to have it dry. 

If you have no outhouse which can be used for your 
chickens the most economical one to build is a low house. 
I will describe one which we and some of our neighbors 
used with success. These houses were two feet high in 
the back and four feet in front, seven feet wide and any- 
where from 12 to 16 or 17 feet long. It should not be 
any longer, however, unless partitions are used, as too 
long a house is always drafty. If one is buying new lum- 
ber it is more economical of lumber and labor to have the 
house just the length of the lumber used in building it. 
As the boards are all nailed on lengthwise and covered with 
rubber roofing materials on back, sides and roof, one can 
utilize any scraps of old lumber one may have and yet 
have a presentable house. 

A one-foot-wide board is nailed to the bottom of this 
house across the front, and at each end is a door, consisting 



^Reprinted from February. 1918. issue of Reliable Poultry Journal. 



86 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 



of a muslin-covered frame. Between these doors the 
opening is covered with poultry netting so that the chick- 
ens can be confined when desired. This opening ip pro- 
vided also with a muslin-oovered frame, hinged to the 2 
by-4 supporting the roof in the front. This frame is 
raised or lowered by means of a pole hinged to the 
frame. The roosts are at one end of the house and can 

be cleaned 
through the door 
at the end. At 
the other end the 
nest boxes are 
nailed and these 
can easily be 
reached through 
the other door. 

For the en- 
couragement of 
those who are 
a m b i t io u s to 
build up a bus- 
iness in fancy 
poultry on a 
small lot, Mr. Mahood and I have decided to divulge a busi- 
ness secret. The last year we kept poultry on the suburban 
lot of 150 by 180 feet, which we have mentioned, we sold 
$3,800 worth of stock, eggs for hatching and day-old chicks.' 
Since then our expanding business has made it necessary 
to move to a larger place so that we might be better able to 
handle our increasing trade in S. C. R. I. Reds. The results 
that we were able to secure on our back lot, however, 
should encourage others similarly to utilize whatever space 
may be available, even though comparatively small. 




BUFF LEGHORN PDLLET WITH RECORD 
OF 163 EGGS IN SIX MONTHS 

See accompanying article by R. E. Sims. 



Remarkable Laying Strain Developed 
on City Lot 

In a Space Measuring 35 by 75 Feet Buff Leghorns Have 

Been Bred With Remarkable Success — Pullet 

Lays at Age of 3 Months and 20 Days 

By R. E. SIMS, Arkansas 

EDITORIAL NOTE: The successful experience of 
R. E. Sims, as recorded in the following article, should be 
an inspiration to breeders and back-yard poultry keepers 
generally. Mr. Sims' article was accompanied by sworn 
statements covering the record of the ten pullets that laid 
2,547 eggs in 12 months and the record of Biddy Buff 
Grand — 163 eggs from December 1 to May 31. We regret 
that through lack of space it is impossible properly to re- 
produce this documentary proof of these splendid results. 



|~kUR GROUND space is 35 by 75 feet. Here 36 breeding 
^—^ hens — Single Comb Buff Leghorns — have given us 
4,831 eggs in the seven months (this was in 1918). In 
the same period I sold $426.65 worth of eggs and birds, 
besides supplying my home with all the good fresh eggs 
we could consume," and had 135 extra-fine youngsters on 
hand, quite a number of them of true show quality. Car- 
ing for my birds is not much trouble — in fact, I regard 
it as a pleasure, as well as being profitable. Does it 
pay? Just read the above figures over again. 

One secret of our success is that we are sticklers for 
quality, as all stock on hand are direct descendants from 
227, 262 and 283 egg-record blood. It costs a little 
more to' start that way, but once you have them, they 
pay a thousand-fold and are an asset to your business, 
not only in production, but from an advertising point of 



view. Our pens are 10 feet wide by 35 feet deep, and 
the birds are never out of them. 

Greater egg production has been our aim. Ten years 
ago, if we had a pullet to lay in five months we felt we 
were doing fine, but year after year we kept our earliest- 
to-lay pullets and each year we had several that would 
lay 5 to 10 days earlier than before and last year we reach- 
ed the record of 3 months and 24 days, which we thought 
must be the limit of early-laying possibilities. That year a 
pen of 10 pullets, hatched February 14, 1919, commenced to 
lay June 9, 1919, and for the year ending June 8, 1920, 
made a record of 2,547 eggs. At the end of this period 
the birds were only 16 months old and still laying. From 
June 9 to 30 inclusive, following the conclusion of this 
12-month record, these ten pullets laid 183 eggs, making 
a total of 2,730 in 12 months and 22 days, or an average 
of 273 each. 

This year, however, we have again broken our early 
laying record. Our first brood was hatched February 18, 
1920, from eggs from this pen of 10 pullets. One of the 
pullets raised from this brood gave us the first egg on 
June 7, at the age of 3 months and 20 days, exceeding 
last year's record by 4 days. Of 10 specially selected 
pullets of this brood, 4 are now laying (June 13) and we 
believe that all 10 will be laying by the time they are 4 
months old. Any one who will start with good foun- 
dation blood can win as we have, by careful breeding and 
proper care and feeding. While these pullets have thus 
shown wonderful laying ability they have not lost thfeir 
exhibition quality. Many have the very best show type 
and color — in fact are superb in these respects. Breed- 
ing and selecting for early maturity have not unfavorably 
affected size, as is proved by the fact that our Buffs are 
larger than most of their Leghorn cousins. The 10 se- 
lected pullets, hatched February 18, 4 of which are now 
laying (June 13), average three pounds each. 

We are particularly proud of the record made by 
Biddy Buff Grand. From December 1, 1919, up to May 
31, 1920— just 6 months— she laid 163 big, perfectly shap- 
ed white eggs, average weight 2 ounces each. This pul- 
let was hatched February 14, 1919, and commenced to 
lay June 19, 1919, when but 4 months and 5 days old and 
v;as a very heavy layer through July, August and Sep- 
tember. On October 1 we took her out of the pen to 
condition her for our State Show at Magnolia. Notwith- 
standing faded beak and shanks, due to heavy laying, she 
scored 94 points. She continued to lay every day in con- 
dition pen so took her out and put her in back yard and 
commenced to trap her on December 1 with results as 
above stated. Bid- 
dy Buff Grand 
is a granddaugh- 
ter to our Biddy 
Buff with record 
of 283 in one 
year and a total 
of 1,152 in seven 
years. I am sor- 
ry now that I did 
not trap Biddy 
Buff Grand from 
the start as I 
feel sure she is 
better than a 300- b^'ff leghorn pullet laying when 

, -r., , 3 MONTHS AND 20 DAYS OLD 

egg hen. Blood 

win f pll ' ^'s.s hatched February IS and laid first egg 

will ten. June 7. See accompanying article by R. E. Sims, 



1 


\ \ liiililii 



CHAPTER XV 



Culling Metliods for tKe Back-Yard Poultry Keeper 

There Are Great Variations in the Productive Capacity of Hens and Best Results Are Only Secured When the 
Unprofitable Members of the Flock Are Culled Out — Simple, Easily Learned Methods of Cull- 
ing Are Here Given How to Detect Cull Hens in the Market 




HE poultry keeper who does not begin in June 
systematically to cull the nonlayers and the 
poor layers from his flock is losing money. This 
loss may be comparatively slight in some 
cases, but in others it may mean all the differ- 
ence between success and failure in the year's operations. 
It does not seem to be as clearly understood as it 
should be that there are wide differences in the productive 
capacity of hens which cannot be overcome by any known 
method of feeding or management. In every flock, re- 
gardless of breeding, there will be found at least a few 
high-record layers; usually there will be a fair proportion 
of good layers; and there will also be a number that will 
be productive for a limited time, chiefly in summer when 
prices are low, but whose total yield for the year will 
fall far short of paying their board bill. Also, there 
usually will be found some delinquents that will produce 
no eggs at all, or so few that they are scarcely worth 
considering. It is chiefly the last two classes that pull 
down the yearly productio'n of the average flock to its 
present comparatively low level. 

How to Keep the Egg Yield up to 50 Per Cent All Summer 

According to Professor H. R. Lewis of the New Jersey 
Experiment Station, an average production of 50 per cent 
can and should be secured during the summer season. If 
the average falls below this point it is proof that there 
are some hens in the flock that are worse than poor pro- 
ducers — they are not laying at all. Professor Lewis es- 
timates that for each point below 50 per cent production 
there are two idle hens in the flock. That is. if 100 hens 
average to lay only 45 eggs a day there are 10 nonlayers 
in the flock. If the average number of eggs is down to 
35 a day, then there are 30 hens that are making no re- 
turns for their feed. It should be understood that these 
estimates are for well-managed flocks and are based large- 
ly upon data secured at the Vineland Egg-Laying Con- 
test, hence may not apply exactly to the average flock 
though they probably are approximately correct. 

It is not at all difficult for the back-yard poultry 
keeper to keep his summer production up to a 50 per cent 
average where modern methods of culling are adopted. 
These are now so definite, so simple, and so readily applied 
that anyone can easily eliminate the unprofitable members 
of his flock. It is not meant by this to convey the im- 
pression that even the expert can infallibly select the 
nonproducers or the poor producers, or that he will not 
sometimes include good layers among the culls. The 
chance of error is slight, however, where proper methods 
are followed. Moreover, it is a simple matter to "check 



Note- — Thp importance of cullinfi .ind the* best method of doing it an- 
neressarily prc.-ientod very briefly in this chapter. Tlie information on tiiis 
subject made available in the lapt few years by tiie painstaking investigations 
of both scientists and practical poultry keepers, has become far too extensive 
to be treated in detail ivithin the space here available. The interested reader 
is referred to "Profitable Culling and Selective Flock Breeding," in whicli 
book will bo found practically everything on the subject of culling that is now 
known or is available for publication — see page 104. 



up" on results simply by confining the culls separately for 
a few days. This is frequently done at culling demonstra- 
tions when proof of the accuracy of the tests is desired. 

For example, one poultry keeper had a flock of 166 
Rhode Island Reds from which 70 were culled out as 
"slackers." During the four days previous to culling he 
secured an average of 34 eggs each day from the 166. For 
the first six days after culling he secured an average of 
32 eggs each day from the 96 hens that were left — and he 
had 70 fewer hens to board. Another, before culling, was 
getting an average of 7 eggs a day from 70 hens; 38 non- 
layers were culled out and the 32 that were left, having 
the field to themselves, reached an average of 12 eggs 
per day — 5 more than the entire flock had been laying. 
Still another flock was divided into 32 layers and 19 culls; 
from the first lot the owner received 66 eggs during a 
given time, and only one egg from the culls. 

In the face of such results as these, and similar re- 
sults have been reported from practically every section 
where special attention has been given to this subject, it 
scarcely seems possible to overestimate the practical im- 
portance of culling. 




genera:, appe.\r.\nce of good and poor layer 

Hen on left was a poor layer. Was beefy in type, her abdomen being 
covered with fat and hard to the touch. Smaller bird on right had little fat 
in the abdomen which was soft and flexible. On opening these two birds, 
reproductive organs of one on left appeared similar to those in jar 10 
shown in cut on page 00. The egg organs of the lien on right closely re- 
sembled those in jar 8. 

S7 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 



The numerous advantages of culling are thus set forth 
by Professor Rice of Cornell University: 

"By culling out unproductive fowls and selling them 
when they cease to lay for the year, we accomplish a 
number of profit-making things. 

"First, we release a large amount of valuable feed 
for productive purposes. 

"Second, we place upon the market immediately an 
important supply of poultry meat. 




EGG ORGANS OF FOWL IN LAYING CONDITION 



1 — Fully formed yolk. 2 — Ovary with partially developed yolks. 
-Line indicating spread of pubic bones. Plioto from Dr. B. F. Kaupp, 



3 — Oviduct. 4 — Rectum, 
N. C. Exp. Station. 



"Third, we keep only profit makers, thus increasing 
the average production and profit per fowl retained. 

"Fourth, we decrease the amount of labor required 
by reducing the size of the flock earlier in the year, in- 
stead of waiting until late in the fall. 

"Fifth, we secure a higher price for the culled stock 
by avoiding the overstocked late-fall markets. 

"Sixth, we secure more efficient production because of 
less crowded conditions and better care given to the stock 
that is retained. 

"Seventh, we get more satisf .;ction because of the in- 
tellectual incentive which always comes with larger pro- 
fits and greater knowledge." 

What Is Meant by Culling 

This term includes all methods of discriminating be- 
tween layers and nonlayers in the poultry flock, the tests 
being based upon consideration of external characters. 
Culling can be done to some extent at any time of the year, 
but for a number of reasons it may be done more accur- 
ately in summer and early fall than at any other season. 
One advantage in culling at this season is that the poultry 
keeper who wants to carry his fowls over for another year 
can make practically certain that he is keeping only the 
mosi Droductive members of the flock. 

Culling methods are based upon the fact that high 
egg production results in certain changes in the external 
characters of fowls, also in their body conformation. 
These changes are so definite that the skillful observer is 
able to tell not only whether the hen is laying or not, but 
can also make a close estimate of her past production. 

Followdng is the outline for examining fowls for egg 
production as approved by the American Association of 
Instructors and Investigators: 



Outline for Examining Fowls for Egg Production 

In order to lay well, a bird must have a sound body. 
As a first consideration, the bird must be vigorous and 
healthy if it is to be able to lay well. Vigor and health 
are shown by a bright, clear eye, a well-set body, a com- 
paratively active disposition, and an indication of good 
blood circulation. Further, the bird must be free from 
physical defects, such as crooked beak; excessively long 
toenails; eyelids that overhang, so that the bird cannot 
see well; excessively scaly legs, or 
anything else that would keep the 
bird from seeing or getting an abun- 
dance of feed. 

Loss of Fat and Loss of Color of Fat 
Due to Laying 

Pigmentation Changes. A lay- 
ing fowl uses up the surplus fat in 
the body. Especially, it removes the 
fat from the skin. In yellow-skinned 
breeds, this loss of fat can readily be 
seen by the loss of the yellow color. 
The diff^erent parts of the body tend 
to become white, according to the 
amount of fat which is being taken 
from these parts, depending, of course, 
on the amount of fat which has 
been stored up in these various parts, 
and the circulation of blood through 
them. It should be recognized that all yellow color 
changes are dependent on the feed, the coarseness of skin, 
and the size of the bird. A large bird fed on an abundance 
of green feed, or other material that will color the fat 
deep yellow, will not bleach out in color in these various 
parts as quickly as will a smaller bird or a bird which 
naturally has a pale yellow coloring. 

The changes occur in the following order: 
Vent. The vent changes very quickly with egg pro- 
duction, so that a white or pink vent on a yellow-skinned 
bird generally means that the bird is laying; while a yel- 
low vent means that the bird is not laying. 

Eye King and Ear Lobe. The eye rings — ^that is, the 
inner edges of the eyelids — ^bleach out a trifle more slowly 
than the vent. The ear lobes of Leghorns and other 
white-lobed varieties, bleach out a little more slowly than 
tlie eye rings, so that a bleached ear lobe means a longer 
or greater production than a bleached vent or eye ring. 

Beak. The color leaves the beak, beginning at the 
base and gradually disappearing until it leaves the front 
part of the upper beak. The very tip of the beak is usual- 
ly white before the bird is making eggs, and should not be 
confused with the loss of pigment, due to production. A 
\ery small ring just on the crest of the curve of the beak 
very often is the last part of the beak to lose its color. 
The lower beak bleaches faster than the upper, but may 
be used where the upper is obscured by a horn, or black 
color, such as in the Rhode Island Reds and Plymouth 
Rocks. On the average-colored yellow-skinned birds, and 
on the average-sized bird, a bleached beak means fairly 
heavy production for at least the past four to six weeks. 
Shanks. The shanks are the slowest to bleach out, 
and hence indicate a much longer period of production 
than the other parts. The yellow color leaves the outer 



CULLING METHODS FOR THE BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPER 



89 



ring of the scales, then leaves the entire scale, on the 
front of the shanks first, and finally leaves after a longer 
and greater production, from the scales on the rear of 
ihe shanks. The scales on the heels of the shank — that 
part of the shank just below the back of the hock joint 
- are the las;; to bleach out, and for this reason may 
generally be used as an index as to the natural depth 
of the original yellow color of the various parts of the 
b'rd. A bleat-hed-out shank on an average-sized bird with 
an average yellow color, indicates that the bird has been 
laying fairly heavily for at least from 15 to 20 weeks. 

Reappearance of Pigment. The yellow color comes 
back into the vent, eye ring, ear lobes, beak and shanks 
and m these individual parts in the same sequence as it 
left, when the bird stops laying, only the color returns 
much more quickly than it went out. A vacation or rest pe- 
riod can sometimes be determined by the end of the beak 
being bleachoil tnd the base being yellow, or a longer 
vacation, or rest, can be determined by the shanks being 
pale or somewhat bleached and the beak showing a fair 
amount of yellow pigment. In other words, if the degree 
of yellow color in a bird gradually increases in density 
from the vent to the eye ring, to the lobe, to the base of 
the beak, to the point of the beak and to the shanks, it 
shows that the bird has laid continually without rest 
for a period indicated by the amount of yellow present; 
whereas, if the bird shows more yellow in any preceding 
part of the sequence as outlined, it indicates a rest period 
depending on the diflference of the yellow color found 
in these parts. 

Body Changes Due to Laying 

Vent. A laying hen has a large, moist vent showing 
a dilated condition and looseness as compared with the 
hard, puckered vent of nonlaying hens. 

Abdomen. The abdomen is dilated as well as the 
vent, so that the pelvic arches are widespread and the 
keel is forced dovimward away from the pelvic arches, so 
as to give large capacity. The more eggs the bird is 
going to lay in the following week, the greater 
will be the size of the abdomen in proportion -__—-- 
to the size of the bird. The actual size of the 
abdomen is, of course, greatly influenced by • 

the size of the bird and to a certain extent, 
by the size of the egg laid. 

Quality of Skin. Heavy production is 
.shown by the quality of the skin. Fat goes 
out from the skin and body with production, 
so that the heavy producers have a soft, vel- 
vety skin that is not underlaid by heavy lay- 
ers of hard fat. The abdomen, in particular, 
is soft and pliable. 

Pelvic Arches. Heavy production is shown 
by the quality and the thickness and stiffness 
of the pelvic arches. In heavy producers 
these are apt to show high qualities by being 
thin and pliable rather than stiff and thick; so 
that the thicker and blunter the pelvic arches, 
and the greater the amount of fat and meat 
covering them, the less production or the 
longer time since production. 

Lateral Processes. These, like the pelvic 
arches, should in a bird of good production or 
in a bird which is producing heavily, show 
good quality by being soft and pliable, prom- 
inent and generally bent outward. 



Head. One of the finer indications, yet one of the 
most valuable in picking the high layers, is the fineness of 
the head. The head of a good layer is fine. The wattles 
and ear lobes fit close to the beak, and are loose and flat. 
The face is clean cut. The eyes are full, round, clear and 
prominent, especially as seen from the front. 

Feathering. The high layer is trimmer and always 
apt to be somewhat more angular, that is, the feathers 
lie closer to the body than on the poor layers, and after 
a heavy production the oil from the base of the feathers 
does not keep the plumage relatively so sleek and glossy 
as on a poorer layer; but the plumage on the other hand, 
becomes worn and threadbare. 

Comb, Wattles and Ear Lobes. The comb, wattles and 
ear lobes enlarge or contract, depending on the activity of 
the ovary. If the comb, wattles and ear lobes are large, 
full and smooth, or hard and waxy, the bird is in full lay. 
If the comb is limp, the bird is only laying slightly, but 
is not laying at all when the comb is dried down, especial- 
ly at molting time. If the comb is warm, it is an indi- 
cation that the bird is coming back into production. 

Molting 

When a bird stops laying in the summer, she usually 
starts molting. The later a hen lays in the summer, or 
the longer the period in which she lays, the greater will 
be her production, so the high producer is the late layer 
and the late molter. The length of time that a hen has 
been molting, or has stopped laying, can be determined 
by the molting of the ten large feathers at the end of the 
wing, or in other words, the primary feathers. It takes 
about six weeks to renew completely the primary feather 
next to the middle feather of the wing, and an additional 
two weeks for each subsequent primary to be renewed. 

Temperament and Activity 

A good layer is more active and yet more easily 
handled than a poor layer. A good layer shows more 
friendliness and yet elusiveness than a poor layer. A 




COMPARISON OF BODY CAPACITY IN GOOD AND POOR LAYER 



Skeleton on the left is that of a high producer. Note wide distance between pubic bones 
indicated by scale, and wide span b.^tween these bones and the keei; also wide-spread lateral 
processes. Compare these with corresponding dimensions in the siceleton of the poor pro- 
ducer on the right. Photo from Connecticut (Storrs; Experiment Station. 



90 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 



poor layer or a bird which is loafing is apt to be shy, 
staying on the edge of the flock, and will generally 
squawk when caught. 



How to Cull Fowls of Heavy Breeds 

The suggestions that have here been given regarding 
culling, apply to fowls of all breeds but more particularly 
to Leghorns. In the case of fowls of the larger breeds, 
the distinctions as a rule are not so readily made, though 
of equal value so far as they can be applied. Large fowls 
do not lose their yellow pigment as rapidly as small ones. 
In hens having a horn-colored beak, as is the case with 
Rhode Island Reds, the fading of the underbeak may be 
used as a test, while in white-shanked fowls such as Or- 
pingtons, also those with black shanks, pigmentation tests 



flocks of up-to-date farmers and commercial poultry keep- 
ers who now quite generally cull their fowls carefully at 
this season, keeping for another year only those that 
have been good layers, and sending the nonproducers to 
market. In every case, when buying fowls of unknown 
quality it is wise to apply the tests for layers as described 
ill this chapter, which should be carefully studied by the 
beginner. As a means of summarizing the tests to be 
made it may be said that the person who is buying hens 
about October 1 should avoid those that show the fol- 
lowing marks of the poor layer: 

Complete coat of new feathers. 

Bagging down behind. 

All serious physical defects. 

Any indication of weakness, poor flesh, etc. 




JARS CONTAINING REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS OF FEMALE FOWLS AT DIFFERENT STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT 

Beginning at the left, Jar No. 1 contains organs taken from a 3-month-old pullet; 2, from a pullet 4 months old; 3, 5 months; 4 from puUet with comb just 
turning red; 5, from pullet that had just laid her first egg; 6, from a bird that had laid for a period of from 2 to 5 weeks; 7, froni a broody bird; 8. from bird 18 
month! old, at end of laying season; 9. from hen in full molt; 10, from bird in dormant condition at end of laymg period; 11, from bird that had molted and 
started to lay. Photo taken at Cornell University. 



are of little value. Here the poultryman must depend 
chiefly upon the condition of the vent, the position and 
pliability of the pubic bones, abdominal capacity as evi- 
denced by the distance between pubic bones and keel, the 
condition of the comb and the plumage, etc. 

In handling hens of every breed, note particiflarly the 
condition of the abdomen which will be soft and flabby 
in heavy layers, and hard and tight skinned in nonpro- 
ducers. The face of the laying hen is fuller and the ear 
lobe full — not wrinkled. If molting has begun, the length 
of time devoted to the process (which will indicate approx- 
imately the date when the hen stopped laying) may be de- 
termined by the stage of the molt. Generally speaking, 
the body feathers are shed first, then the tail, and finally 
the wing, which molts from the middle outward. 

How to Detect Cull Hens 

The back-yard poultry keeper who finds it necessary 
to stock up in the fall with hens instead of pullets must 
be on his guard to avoid buying the inferior culls from the 



Bright yellow legs and beaks. 

Hard, tight-skinned abdomen. 

Blade of comb sticking up in rear (instead of "rocker" 
comb following contour of neck). 

Keel or breastbone that is short or tucked up behind, 
(thus reducing abdominal capacity). 

If any of the hens offered show the following charac- 
ters and are in good physical condition generally. By all 
means include them in the lot selected: 

Old plumage retained, or early stages of molt. 

Rocker comb. 

Pale shanks and beak (in yellow-skinned breeds). 

Loose-skinned, flabby abdomen. 

Long keel, lower at rear than in front (to give ample 
abdominal capacity). 

Clean legs (free from scales). 

Bright full eye. 

Active disposition. 

Large, moist vent. 



CHAPTER XVI 



How Artificial Light Increases Winter Production 

Use of Artificial Light One of the Great Discoveries of Recent Years — Its Rapid Adoption by Practical Poultry Keepers 

and the Remarkable Results Secured — How Artificial Light Makes Increased Production Possible and Best 

Methods of Applying It — Special Rations for "Lighted" Flocks, and How to Feed Them 




HE DISCOVERY of the influence of artificial 
light in increasing winter egg production is 
one of great importance and the rapid adoption 
of the method by poultrymen in ail parts of the 
country has been remarkable. Thousands now 
regularly follow the practice each winter, with practically 
no failures whare a fair trial is given. In a single county 
of western New York, for illustration, over 150 producers 
are now regularly using "lights." Regarding the adoption 
of this practice in Canada, W. A. Brown, Chief of Poultry 
Division, Canadian Department of Agriculture, vsrrites as 
follows: "In this part of Canada the use of artificial 
light in poultry houses is more or less taken for granted; 
in fact, in the section of the city of Ottawa in which I 
live, it has been more than once remarked when persons 
would step out of their houses on a winter's evening that 
the number of lights in chicken houses was almost as 
great as the number of lights in dwellings." 

A number of our state experiment stations have test- 
ed out the use of lights in comparative experiments, and 
have scientifically demonstrated not only the advantages 
of their use but have shown clearly just what increased 
production may reasonably be expected. These reports 
are highly interesting and instructive. At Cornell Uni- 
versity, for example, quite a number of such tests have 
been made and the increase in production during the short 
winter months has been truly remarkable. For example, 
in one test the per cent production of two pens of hens, 
one with and one without artificial light, was as follows: 



Nov. 28— Dec. 25. 
Dec. 26— Jan. 22 . 
Jan. 23— Feb. 19 . 
Feb. 20— Mar. 19. 



Per cent 


Per cent 


Production 


Production 


No Light 


With Lights 


1.7 


20.3 


5. 


36. 


18.6 


33 4 


31.3 


46.6 



A duplication of the comparison, using pullet flocks instead 
of hens, gave the following results: 



Nov. 
Dec. 
Jan. 
Feb. 



28— Dec. 
26 — Jan. 
23— Feb. 
20 — Mar. 



Per cent 


Per cent 


Production 


Production 


No Lights 


With Lights 


22.4 


36.6 


23.1 


54.2 


31.8 


.54.4 


14.7 


60. 



Results of comparative experiments made by prac- 
tical egg producers have been similarly clear cut and de- 
cisive. As an instance we may cite the records secured 
at Hillhurst Farm, New York, where 70 pullets were 
illuminated and 350 of similar age and breeding were 
kept without lights. Starting with lights on January 10 
the production of the unUghted pen was 20.3 per cent 
while that of the lighted pen was 28.7. Ten days later 
the percentages of production were 14.6 and 32.9 respec- 
tively; on the 20th day the percentages stood at 14.3 and 
78.6 and at the end of 30 days the average of the unlight- 
ed pen was 17.1 per cent as against 71.4 per cent for 
the lighted pen. The effect of illumination on egg pro- 
duction in this test is graphically illustrated in the chart 
shown on page 92. 



A recent circular issued by the New Jersey Experi- 
ment Station gives the following illustration of the im- 
provement in winter production, brought about by the 
use of lights: 

"Artificial lighting of henhouses has been enthusias- 
tically and profitably adopted by over 100 poultrymen in 
New Jersey, and more are joining the ranks daily. Are 
the returns really worth the trouble and expense involved ? 
the skeptical ones ask. Here are a few figures compiled 
by W. H. Ellis, a Monmouth County poultryman, who in 
cooperation with the county agent has been running a 
demonstration on the use of electric lights in one of his 
laying houses. Draw your own conclusions. 

"Without lights in October, November and December, 
1918, 350 pullets laid 3512 eggs. During the same months 
a year later 365 pullets with lights produced a total of 
6178 eggs. A pen of one and two-year-old hens without 
lights made a 24 per cent production in October, 1919; 
in November this had slumped to 7% per cent and in De- 
cember to 2 per cent. A similar pen with lights produced 
28 per cent in October, 24 per cent in November and 15 
per cent in December. 

"With a 12 per cent increase in flock, Mr. Ellis by 
the use of lights made an 87% per cent increase in pro- 
duction, the exact figures being as follows: 

191S without lights 1919 with lights 

October 1983 egg3.. JllJ eSB" 

.November 1973 egga 3400 eggs 

December 2521 eggs ..3579 eggB 

Total 6477 eggs 11.126 egga 

"But what of the expense involved in running a light- 
ing plant? Figuring on the above three months, the 
total estimated increased expense amounted to $76.00, the 
increase in money taken in was $416, leaving $340 to the 
good. Lastly, working under lights does not in any way 
injure the layers." 

Instances like the foregoing could be multiplied in- 
definitely if room were available for the purpose. Those 
who wish to have further direct evidence as to the merits 
of lights in increasing production are referred to "Use 
of Artificial Light to Increase Winter Egg Production," a 
well-illustrated, down-to-date book, published by R. P. J. 
Publishing Company (see page 104). 

To understand the reason why the use of artificial 
light produces the remarkable results realized it is nec- 
essary to consider the nature of the fowls and the prob- 
able effects of the enforced idleness of long winter nights. 
Fowls are highly active and under natural conditions are 
on the move most of the time hunting for food, scratching 
and digging and getting the exercise that is so essential 
to their health and physical well-being. It is hardly pos- 
sible for them to get the amount of exercise that they 
require for best results in the short days that are char- 
acteristic of the winter season, when the number of hours 
of daylight are reduced until at the winter solstice, De- 
cember 21, the day is only about 9 hours l«ng, and in 

91 



92 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 



cloudy or stormy weather the fowls may not be off the 
perches more than about 8 hours. 

The poultry keeper, therefore, who is feeding for eggs 
during this short-day period of limited activity quickly 
learns that he must steer a careful course in order to 
supply his fowls with the large quantities of feed needed 
to make heavy production possible without having it di- 
verted to the formation of body fat or resulting in diges- 
tive disorders — both tendencies being directly favored by 
limited activity. 

There is an impression among many that the use of 
artificial light is a forcing measure, the ultimate effect 
of which must be to "wear out" the fowls or exhaust their 
capacity for egg production and possibly even to use up 
their reserves of health. Practical experience has shown, 
however, that fowls under lights, IF PROPERLY 
HANDLED, witl keep in better health than those with- 
out lights. This is proved not only by superiority in pro- 
duction reaching over long periods, and by mortality i-ec- 
ords, but also by experimental tests showing that the use 
of lights on breeding stock gives better fertility. While 
it must be admitted that there is yet a good deal of con- 
jecture in the explanations given for the remarkable re- 
sults secured by the use of lights it seems quite probable 
that the chief factor is the better physical condition of the 
fowls. 

Experience indicates that feed consumption is only 
slightly increased under light. In fact, many operators 
recommend that the proportion of bulky feed be increas- 
ed where lights are used, thus suggesting that it is not 
a matter of getting the fowls to eat more, but of securing 
better assimilation of what is fed. In other words, fowls 
may eat all the feed they need for heavy production, even 
in the shortest winter days, but unless their physical con- 
dition is kept up to par by providing a noi-mal amount of 
activity they will not fully utilize it in egg production. 

Within reasonable limits, therefore, or as practiced 
by experienced operators, it may be said that the use 
of artificial light is not a forcing measure but one which 











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A it^- 1^ 


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L\7 tty \^^\ 


^^-.^ it y7 ^ 


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^^^^^^^ 


j.^>^^ It 


' -\ tr- ■ -;; ^- --^f-- . . 


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— .i:»--* \./.2^^ ^.==s^^_- :i. 









CHART SHOWING INFLUENCE OF ARTIFICIAL LIGHT ON EGG PRODUCTION 

Upper line marked "illuminated" represents the percentage production line of a flock of 70 pullets 
ion. The lower line marked "not illuminated" shows the production of a flock 



under artificial illuminati — -_ — - ^ - - - . 

of 350 pullets kept under similar conditions but without lights. It will be seen from this chart that while 
the production of the pen that was not illuminated was around 15 to 20 per cent, the production of the 
pen with lights rapidly went up to 60 to 70 per cent and remained there throughout February, rn,,^. 
tration from "Use of -Artificial Light to Increase Winter Egg Production." 



simply provides the fowls with more natural conditions, 
under which they will keep in prime physical condition, 
with better egg production as a direct and natural result. 

It is true that the use of light enables those who wish 
to do so to go beyond this point and, by excessive use of 
lights and extreme feeding methods, actually to force 
the fowls, with the result that average production in mid- 
winter may be brought up to extraordinary percentages. 
This is most unwise however, as such practice is quite 
liable to injure the hens. Usually it throws them into 
a molt with a breakdown in production that may leave the 
total for the year much below what the fowls would reach 
without artificial lights. The usual recommendation is 
that the feeding and number of hours of artificial light be 
adjusted to hold production at not over 60 per cent, and 
it is not particularly difficult to do this. 

Under some conditions the use of lights appears not 
to increase total production for the year, but merely to 
transfer production from spring to the winter months. 
In other words, birds under lights will lay in the winter- 
time the eggs that without lights they would lay in the 
spring. The sum total of the results secured with lights 
then is to get no more eggs from birds than would be 
secured without lights but to get them in the wintertime 
when the prices are highest. Many experiments, how- 
ever, indicate that if the fowls are well handled it is 
possible not only to get high production during the winter 
months but also to secure a marked increase in the total 
production for the year. For example, in the case of the 
Cornell experiments already referred to on the preceding 
page the average production of the hens in the pen with- 
out lights was 100.73 eggs, while the pen with lights 
averaged 127.92. In the pen of pullets without lights 
the average production was 107.94, while the average of 
the pullets that had lights was 14.5.27. 

Kind of Lights Used 

Those who have current available naturally prefer 
electric lights because of their convenience and safety. 
By the use of suitable equipment elec- 
tric lights can be automatically turn- 
ed on and off in the pens at the exact 
time desired, thus avoiding interfer- 
ence with the poultry keeper's sleep- 
ing hours or other engagements. 
Many who do not have access to a 
power line have installed private elec- 
tric light plants, and where a large 
number of fowls are kept it is not 
unusual to have the revenue from the 
increased production pay for the en- 
tire plant in a single season. Those 
who do not have electric lights, how- 
ever, are not on that account debarred 
from the use of this modern method. 
Poultry keepers in various sections of 
the country have reported the best 
results with gas lights, gasoline lan- 
terns and even ordinary kerosene lan- 
terns. Those who have only small 
flocks will find that lanterns can be 
used with excellent results, but in 
large houses incandescent gasoline 
lights are recommended. 

It does not seem to matter ma- 
terially when lights are used so long 
as the fowls have the necessary num- 



Illus 



HOW ARTIFICIAL LIGHT INCREASES WINTER PRODUCTION 



93 



ber of hours of light (12 to 14), hence the illumination can 
be adapted quite largely to the convenience of the caretak- 
er. Many persons provide no lights in the morning but run 
them until nine or ten o'clock in the evening. Others 
turn them on at three in the morning and allow the birds 
to go to roost at the natural time in the evening, while 
others find it more convenient to turn the lights on for 
shorter periods both morning and evening. 

There is one point that the beginner will want par- 
ticularly to take into consideration in deciding when to 
use lights, which is the difficulty some report in keeping 
the fowls from going on the perches at the usual time in 
the evening regardless of the lights. It is possible to 
avoid this by resorting to special feeding methods. Usual- 
ly it is planned to feed something at this time that the 
fowls like extra well in order to keep them down until the 
hour fixed as the one when the lights are to be turned out 
and the fowls left for the night. Turning the lights on 
early in the morning prevents this difficulty as the fowls 
then will promptly come down off the perches when it is 
light enough to see, regardless of the hour. It is not de- 
sirable, however, to turn the lights on early in the morn- 
ing unless the fowls are promptly fed and watered. Where 
nonfreezing founts are provided, the morning grain feed 
scattered in the litter the night before, and a dry mash 
supplied in hoppers to which the birds can have access at 
any time, it is entirely practical to have all the artificial 
light in the morning, and this can be done without any 
inconvenience to the caretaker if automatic electric lights 
are used. 

It has been general experience that the fowls most 
benefited by the use of lights are what may be called 
second-class birds — that is, hens and late-hatched or cull 
pullets. Obviously, early-hatched pullets that are in lay- 
ing condition by October 1 and that may readily be made 
highly productive without lights will not be especially 
benefited by artificial illumination, since they will be lay- 
ing approximately up to their capacity at any rate, but 
the inferior pullets that under ordinary conditions would 
lay but poorly, and hens one year old or over that perhaps 
would not begin to lay until towards spring, will respond 
quickly to the influence of lights, and it is with such flocks 
as these that most marked results are regularly secured. 
As a matter of fact, experiments at Cornell and elsewhere 
have proved that it is possible to get as good or better 
production from late-hatched inferior pullets as can be se- 
cured with the best pullets without lights. 

For example, at Sunny Crest Farm in New York, a 
flock of 2,100 pullets was sorted, 1,600 of the better ones 
being placed in a house without lights while 500 culls — 
"the weakest, smallest, and most unpromising of our en- 
tire flock" — were placed in separate houses provided with 
artificial illumination. At the time lights were installed 
(late in November) the production of the cull pen was 
running about 20 per cent while the production of the se- 
lected pullets was averaging 35 to 40 per cent. Within 
three weeks after the lights were turned on, the production 
of the best pullets had dropped to 20 per cent as the re- 
sult of severe weather which came on about this time, 
while the cull pullets were averaging 65 per cent. These 
pullets remained greatly in the lead throughout the month 
of December at which time lights were also installed in 
the house where the best pullets were kept and in that 
way the latter were brought up to the satisfactory pro- 
duction being realized from the culls. 



Reference has already been made to the fact that cer- 
tain changes in methods of feeding are desirable where 
artificial illumination is practiced. At the Western Wash- 
ington Experiment Station, Professor Geo. R. Shoup, who 
is a pioneer in the use of artificial illumination, recommends 




HENS SCRATCHING IN LITTER BY ARTIFICIAL LIGHT 

This flashlight photograph shows a flock of White Plymouth Rocks busily 
engaged in scratcliing in the litter for sprouted oats and dry grain at 7 p. m., 
the house being well lighted by electricity. Illustration from "Use of Arti- 
ficial Light to Increase Winter Egg Production." 

the following feeding methods which he has found thor- 
oughly satisfactory under his conditions. 

Method of Feeding Artificially Lighted Flocks at 
West. Washington Experiment Station 

"Where artificial lighting is regularly practiced, the 
feeding method recommended by this Station for Leghorn 
pullets laying heavily, based on units of 100 birds, is as 
follows: 

7:00 a. m. — 8 lbs. of dry oats, germinated to very 
short sprouts. 

3:30 p. m. — 8 lbs. scratch grain. 

5:00 p. m. — 4 lbs. of a good dry mash mixture wet 
with water, to which fresh blood is added in proportion of 
1 pint of blood to 1 gallon of water. In the absence of 
blood, 4 quarts of sour milk or buttermilk may be used, 
or blood meal, at the rate of about 10 per cent of the 
mash fed, mixing this with a suitable quantity of water. 

7:30 p. m.— Kale. 

"Dry mash is supplied in hoppers, and during the day 
one hundred birds will average to consume about four 
pounds of this, also about a gallon of clabbered milk, which 
is fed about 9:00 a. m. The kale, which is fed at 7:30, is 
greatly liked by the fowls, and when brought in after sup- 
per proves to be a good bait to bring the pullets off the 
roosts, where many of them go after filling up on the 
mash. Without a bait of some kind they will turn their 
backs to the brightest lights and the attempt at lighting 
will be a failure. After a few weeks of this practice the 
pullets refrain from roosting early and most of them are 
on the floor waiting when the kale comes in. After eat- 
ing the kale they scratch industi-iously for grain in the 
litter, eat more dry mash, water and shell, and by 8:30 or 
9:00 p. m. are filled to repletion again." 

The Poultry Department at the New Jersey Experi- 
- ment Station has taken a leading part in promoting the 
adoption of the use of lights and also has conducted a 
number of experiments at the station and also has su- 
perintended many practical tests on the plants of com- 
mercial egg producers. The method of feeding recom- 
mended by this institution is as follows: 



94 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 



Method of Feeding Artificially Lig-hted Flocks 
Recommended by the N. J. Exp. Station* 

Scratch feed (parts by weight) 

Cracked or whole corn - * 

Wheat-- ' 

Oats 1 

Mash feed (parts by weight) 

Wheat bran - - 

Wheat middlings 1 

Corn meal 1 

Ground oats (heavy) — .■ ..' 

Meat scrap or fish scrap (high grade) -.^ 

Schedule for Feeding Scratch Feed 

Pounds per 100 birds 
Early A. M. 10 A. M. 



When this is supplemented with a wet mash it is best 
to give the mash just after noon. Following this schedule 
will be found to induce birds to work pretty well all day, 
and will do away with a great deal of the inactivity which 
is apt to develop during cold and bad weather. 



September - 

October 

November. 
December - . 

January 

February- - 



ion 


Late P.M. 


Total 


2 


5 


10 


2 


5 


10 


2 


5 


10 


2 


6 


12 


2 


6 


12 


2 


-) 


13 



The mash feed should be fed dry and in boxes or self- 
feeders kept constantly before the birds and available to 
them at ALL times. This system of feeding mash may 
be supplemented by feeding the same mi.xture wet and 
given during the middle of the day. But only enough 




HOW ARTIFICIAL LIGHT INCREASES NET RETURNS FROM THE FLOCK 

The two circles shown above show the results of the use of Ught on 14 flocks of layers in New Jersey, 
September 1, 1918 to March 1-15, 1919. Where lights were used the egg yield was increased to such an 
extent that 32 cents out of each dollar of receipts paid for feed and lights, leaving 68 cents net. In similar 
flocks for the same period, without light, it would have taken 61 cents of each one dollar of receipts to pay 
for feed, leaving but 39 cents net. Courtesy of New Jerse.v Experiment Station: reprinted from "t'se of 
-Artificial Light to Increase Winter Egg Production." 

wet mash should be given so that they will clean it up in 
half an hour at most. (This is important, as they usu- 
ally get sick of wet mash if it is left before them any 
longer.) 

The scratch feed should be given at least three times 
daily and in cold and disagreeable weather may well be giv- 
en four times. The amount of mash the birds vnll eat 
is influenced greatly by the amount of scratch feed giv- 
en, as they will consume a large part of their daily ration 
in the form of scratch feed if enough is supplied. Therefore, 
only a small part of this scratch feed should be given in 
the morning, thereby making the birds hungry for mash. 
The scratch feed given in the morning is more for the pur- 
pose of exercise than anything else, and it will be found 
that they will work as hard and scratch as hard for one 
pound as they will for ten pounds. When given too much, 
they eat only that which they find on the surface of the 
litter and then will be more or less satisfied and will not 
dig for the part that sifts to the floor. A good big feed 
ef scratch should be given at night, because if they can 
be made to go to roost with a crop full of scratch feed, 
it will last them through the night much better. 

*From "Use of Artificial Light to Increase Winter Egg Production." 



Method of Feeding Artificially Lighted Flocks at 
Sunny Crest Farm 

One of the first commercial poultry farms to adopt 
the use of artificial illumination in the East was Sunny 
Crest Farm at East Aurora, N. Y., where the method has 
been tested out on a large scale. Some of the results 
secured at this farm are referred to elsewhere in this 
chapter. The ration used at Sunny Crest, as given in 
"Use of Artificial Light to Increase Winter Egg Produc- 
tion," is as follows: 

"At 7 a. m. give three quarts of grain to one hundred 
hens. 

"At 9 a. m. scatter a good-sized handful for the one 
hundred hens in eight inches of dry litter and at this time 
give all the green feed the hens will 
clean up in one hour, giving them 
sprouted oats, cabbage or mangel 
beets. 

"At 3 p. m. scatter another hand- 
ful of wheat in litter for each hundred 
hens. 

"Night: Feed all grain that the 
birds can pratically clean up. A small 
quantity, however, left over at the 
time they go to roost will afford 
healthful exercise early in the 
morning. 

"If sprouted oats are fed in large 
quantities in the morning or early 
forenoon, the grain fed can be cut 
down to two quarts for the morning 
ration. 

"With us the straw is raked to 

the front of the laying pen where the 

vrindows are, each day or two, so that 

the litter will be evenly distributed 

for exercise. Birds face the light when scratching 

for grain and therefore, as a rule, kick the litter to 

the rear of the pen. 

"The winter dry mash at Sunny Crest Farm consists 
of the following: 

One hundred pounds bran. 

One hundred and twenty-five pounds com meal. 
One hundred pounds red dog flour. 
Fifty pounds ground oats, heavy and ground fine. 
Fifty pounds ground barley. 

Seventy five pounds of meat scrap if buttermilk is 
used, otherwise one hundred pounds meat scrap. Semi- 
solid buttermilk (a commercial article) diluted, one and 
one-half pints to ten to twelve quarts of water, is given 
both morning and afternoon — about one pailful per 
hundred hens a day — that is, half a pailful at each feeding. 
"Our hoppers for two pens (built in the partitions) 
each hold 2,100 pounds of dry mash and are 12 feet long, 
thereby giving the flocks plenty of lineal space. If it is 
found at Sunny Crest that the birds lack appetite or ap- 
pear logy, the mash hoppers are shut down for a period 
of three or four hours in the forenoon." 




CHAPTER X \ I I 



Protecting the Health of the Back- Yard Flocfc 

While Fowls and Chicks Are Subject to Numerous Diseases, the Percentage of Losses Is Small If Proper Care Is 

Taken — The More Common Disorders Which the Back- Yard Poultry Keeper Is Most Liable to 

Encounter Are Here Briefly Described and Simple Treatments Suggested 




OSSES from disease probably will run about 
10 per cent per annum in the average flock. 
This relatively high percentage of loss is not 
due to any special liability to disease on the 
part of the fowls, but to the highly abnormal 
conditions under which they usually are kept and to in- 
different methods of feeding and general care. It is possi- 
ble, but rarely practical, for the average poultry keeper to 
provide such favorable conditions that the death rate in his 
flock will be reduced to extremely low averages. As 
a rule, he can better afford to accept some losses (though 
10 per cent is unnecessarily high) than seek to avoid them 
by the extra floor space and more careful attendance re- 
quired. A marked reduction in losses can readily be se- 
cured in the average flock, however, simply by giving a 
little more attention to the needs of the fowls. 

Most fatal diseases of poultry develop from compara- 
tively minor ailments which through sheer neglect have 
been allowed to become serious, and those who make it a 
practice to keep their birds under close observation, who 
familiarize themselves with them to such an extent that 
they are able to note the first symptoms of a departure 
from normal health, find that they can prevent develop- 
ment of fatal diseases to a great extent. On the other 
hand, those who are careless and indifferent and allow 
their fowls to become seriously ill before appljnng suit- 
able remedies cannot hope to escape heavy losses. 

Cleanliness and Sanitation 

Cleanliness as applied to poultry keeping is a relative 
term and while practical requirements are only moderate- 
ly exacting there are definite limits beyond which it is 
not wise to go in neglecting them. Speaking generally, 
a poultry house is clean as long as it is dry and free 
from odors, excessive dust, and too high a percentage of 
droppings in the floor litter. The back-yard poultry 
keeper whose fowls must be indoors a good deal of the 
time and who, in order to economize in floor space or in 
the quantity of floor litter used, makes use of drop- 
pings boards, will find that frequent cleaning of the lat- 
ter is essential to keeping the house free from disagree- 
able odors. The ideal plan is to clean the droppings 
boards daily. Many find it convenient to do this, while 
many more do not. 

As a matter of practical cleanliness, daily cleaning is 
not necessary, provided the droppings are covered with 
absorbent material, such as road dust, sand, sawdust, etc. 
In such cases the removal of droppings does not become 
a necessary act of cleanliness until the fowls begin to 
scratch the accumulation from the droppings board into 
the floor litter. The point is that an accumulation of drop- 
pings is free from odor as long as it is dry and as long 
as it is free from odor it is harmless to the fowls unless 
they scratch in it and pick it over. It is doubtful if they 
will do this to a harmful extent if their floor is well lit- 
tered and if their ration is what it should be. Floor litter 
is dirty when it is damp, foul smelling or excessively 



dusty, no matter what may be the length of time that it 
has been in use. 

Remove Sick Fowls From the Flock 

The safest and wisest plan is always to remove sick 
fowls from the general flock and keep them isolated so 
that if the disease affecting them is a contagious one 
there will be less danger of it spreading. There are, how- 
ever, two practical difficulties in the way of carrying out 
this policy generally. One is that most persons do not 
have a suitable place to put the ailing birds. The make- 




ROOSTING COOP AND COVERED RUN FOR SMALL 
BACK-YARD FLOCK 

Gives hens advantage of dirt floor and can readily be moved to new loca- 
tion, insuring cleanliness. 

shift quarters usually provided are inconvenient and iso- 
lated from the rest of the buildings, and neglect generally 
finishes any sick fowls that survive the disease. Anoth- 
er difficulty is that where this advice is taken literally it 
often results in the flocks being kept unsettled and dis- 
turbed much of the time, to the great disadvantage of 
all the fowls, sick and well alike. 

While the theory of isolation for sick fowls is a good 
one, when it comes to actual practice it is well to use a 
little discrimination. For minor ailments that do not ap- 
pear to be of an infectious nature it certainly is unde- 
sirable to annoy the fowls by isolating them and later re- 
turning them to the general flock where they invariably 
will be treated as strangers and compelled to fight their 
way to a mutual understanding again. Where many fowls 
in the flock are affected at about the same time, it is 
safe to assume that infection is more or less general, in 
which case the practical thing to do is to treat all as sick, 
and give such general treatment as may be desirable in 
their permanent quarters. In this, as in many other de- 
tails, the caretaker can save a lot of work and worry by 
using a little good judgment along with his "rules" — even 
the most authoritative of them. 

At least until thoroughly familiar with the symptoms 
of ordinary diseases, the beginner should make it a practice 



96 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 




HEN AFFECTED WITH ROUP 



to dissect every fowl that dies from an unicnown cause. 
If he will do this he will find it easy to determine the 
nature of the disease in a great majority of cases, and 
knowing the disease and its cause will be able to prevent 
the spread of the trouble or to apply treatment to new 
cases before they have reached so serious a stage that the 
use of remedies is of no practical value. 

Disinfectants Are Needed 

No matter whether there are any sick fowls in the 
flock or not, the house should be thoroughly sprayed with 

some good disinfectant, 
now and then. Instead 
of looking upon disin- 
fection as a means of 
curing disease after it 
breaks out it should be 
employed while the 
fowls are well; as IN- 
SURANCE AGAINST 
DISEASE. Any good 
disinfectant may be 
used, spraying it on 
thoroughly. Every 
poultry keeper should 
have a spraying outfit, 
its size depending upon 
the amount of surface to be covered. A five per 
cent solution of crude carbolic acid may be used, 
though better results usually will be secured with some 
of the excellent commercial disinfectants on the market. 
These usually are more easily handled, dissolve more 
readily in water, and are thoroughly reliable and effect- 
ive. As a rule, it is not advisable to attempt thorough 
applications of liquid disinfectants in damp or extremely 
cold weather. If possible, select a warm sunshiny day 
when the fowls can be allowed to run out and when the 
house will become reasonably dry again before the fowls 
have to return to it. 

The Droppings Board As a Daily Health Bulletin 

In many disorders the first indication of trouble will 
T)e found in the droppings. To the observant poultry keeper 
these afford a fairly reliable and easily read daily bulle- 
tin of the health of the fowls. Acute indigestion, inflam- 
mation of the intestines, liver trouble and many other 
disorders, both slight and important, usually can be de- 
tected in the droppings hours or even days in advance of 
other symptoms, if the caretaker is familiar with the 
appearance of normal droppings and with the causes of 
variations from normal. This simple guide to the general 
health of the fowls usually is almost completely over- 
looked. As a result, valuable time is often lost because 
the fowl does not "look sick." 

Every poultry editor is called upon at frequent inter- 
vals to answer inquiries that read something like this: 
"My fowls suddenly become sick. They have diarrhea 
and die in a few hours." In point of fact, fowls do not 
as a rule "suddenly" become sick. On the contrary, they 
may be hours or even days in developing serious symptoms 
during which time their droppings progressively change 
from normal to abnormal in appearance, until finally 
the suffering of the fowls becomes so acute that it is able 
to force itself upon the attention of the caretaker 
who is too unobservant or too busy about other things to 
look at the droppings board or even carefully to observe 
his fowls until his attention and remedies alike are use- 



less. Cultivate the habit of taking a glance at the drop- 
pings board every time it is passed. The droppings do 
not form a general index to poultry diseases, of course, 
but they give information so important that failure to 
note their appearance regularly is inexcusable. 

TREATMENT OF COMMON DISEASES 

In a general work of this character it obviously is 
impossible to give complete information in regard to 
poultry diseases. In the space here available it is pos- 
sible only to indicate such general methods of treatment 
as will enable the beginner to keep his fowls in good 
health or to detect ailments at their first appearance and 
apply suitable corrective treatment, thus to prevent the 
development of serious diseases. At the risk of repeti- 
tion we wish to say again that the poultry keeper will 
find it much easier to prevent losses by correct methods 
of feeding and care and by prompt application of simple 
correctives at the first appearance of trouble, than to 
cure sick fowls after clearly defined diseases make their 
appearance. 

For our present purpose it is sufficient to classify 
the common diseases with which the back-yard poultry 
keeper will have to contend, as follows: 

Colds and roup. 

Diseases of digestive organs. 

Miscellaneous ailments. 

Diseases of chicks. 

Colds and Roup 

Fowls are more generally subject to catarrhal affec- 
tions than other domestic animals, due in part to their 
physiological make-up, but chiefly, perhaps, to the fact 
that they usually are kept under more unfavorable condi- 
tions than other animals. Colds probably are infectious, 
and roup, which often results from neglected colds, cer- 
tainly is. Where such diseases are present, the water ves- 
sel is a highly eft'ective means of spreading infection. 
The fowls, in drinking, drop particles of infected mucus, 
scabs, etc., into the water, which later are taken up by 
the other fowls, and in a short time infection becomes 
general. This is the reason why, at the first appearance 
of any form of catarrhal disorder, some good disinfectant 
should at once be added to the water supply and its use 
continued as long as there are any sick fowls in the flock. 

The most 
common causes of 
colds are drafts 
through" cracks 
or other small 
apertures, which 
may permit cold 
currents of air to 
strike the fowls, 
particularly when 
on the perches; 
direct currents of 
air caused by 
doors or other 
openings that 
permit the wind 
to blow through 
the house at the 
floor level; damp- 
ness and foul air, 
to which fowls 
are very sensi- .^.dult fowl with sorehead 




PROTECTING THE HEALTH OF THE BACK-YARD FLOCK 



97 



tive; filthy litter which carries more or less infection to 
be taken up by the fowls in feeding, or through the lungs, 
if dry and dusty; crowding and sweating on the perches 
due to insufficient perch room or to their being placed 
too close together; wrong feeding methods. 

There is comparatively little chance of the small back- 
yard flock being overheated by crowding on the perches, 
but it is just as well to keep the danger in mind. Perches 
should be spaced 12 to 18 inches apart, and 8 inches of 
perch room should be allowed for each fowl of the Med- 
iterranean breeds, and 10 to 12 inches for fowls like Ply- 
mouth Rocks. 

The feeding of hot moist mashes frequently is an 
indirect cause of colds. Hot feeds do no harm in them- 
selves, but it is usual for fowls, after getting a full feed of 
such material, to huddle together in some comer and re- 
main inactive for a considerable period — a combination 
which is quite apt to cause trouble. 

Serious summer colds among adult fowls are not 
often encountered, but as cold weather comes on, cases 
of dirty nostrils, snuffling, and more pronounced symptoms 
become increasingly common. A simple cold or catarrhal 
condition, with some snuffling and accumulations about 
the nostrils, is not necessarily a serious matter, and if 
the exciting cause is removed the trouble probably -will 
right itself without treatment. Such colds are quite com- 
mon among fowls, both old and young, and- it is doubtful 
whether there is any practical advantage in being con- 
stantly on the watch for these symptoms and keeping- 
after them with some form of treatment, particularly in 
the way of internal remedies. Frankly, the writer's 
practice is to ignore simple colds, so far as special 
treatment is concerned, though if many fowls become af- 
fected no time should be lost in trying to find and remove 
the cause or causes. 

Careless or slack methods are not here advocated, 
but from a practical standpoint the poultryman who gets 
anxious and worried over every light cold or catarrh 
that develops among his fowls will have little peace of 
mind the year around. The thing to do is to make sure 
that the fowls are not exposed to conditions which are 
known to cause colds, especially when they are on the 
perches, and to be on the watch for unfavorable symptoms, 
but it is not necessary to attempt to treat every light 
cold that develops. 

About the easiest and simplest way to keep in touch 
with the health of the fowls in this respect is to go into 
the house at night, after they are on the perches. If 
no snuffling, wheezing, or "whistling" is heard the care- 
taker can rest easy. If any of these symptoms are noted 
the affected individuals should be found and examined. 
Whether they should receive special treatment or not 
will depend on circumstances. 

No Trifling With Active Colds 

In contrast with simple, inactive colds or ordinary 
catarrhal conditions, active colds, such as come on sud- 
denly and are distinguished by excessive discharges from 
nostrils, watery eyes, or acute bronchial inflammation, in- 
dicated by a peculiar whistle made in breathing, must 
not be neglected. They may not always be serious in 
themselves, but they pave the way for roup — one of the 
poultry keeper's most dreaded enemies. 

The best form of treatment for active colds will de- 
pend somewhat on the number of fowls affected and the se- 
riousness of the trouble. If there are only a few, individual 



treatment may be practical, since one or two treatments 
often are sufficient to stop the trouble. There are several 
excellent commercial remedies for colds and for roup in 
mild stages, that can be recommended with confidence, and 
better results usually will be secured where one of these 
is used. 

Treatment for Colds and Roup 

For a simple cold in the head, where a good commer- 
cial remedy is not at hand, an effective method is to dip 
the fowl's head in a two per cent solution of potassium 
permanganate. If the eyes or nostrils are covered with 
scabs or accumulations of pus, these should be removed 
by the use of warm water before the remedy is applied. 
It is a good plan to flush out the nostrils with some good 
disinfecting solution, using a rubber syringe for the pur- 
pose. When the eyes are affected they also may be 




A WIDE EAVE UVEH OPEN FRONT KEEPS FLOOR DRY 

flushed with a solution of boric acid. Repeat the treat- 
ment in twelve to twenty-four hours. 

Any good disinfectant that will mix with water may 
be used in the drinking vessels. Potassium permanganate 
is preferred by many, using only enough to color the 
water, renewing the supply two or three times a day, 
as this drug loses its efficiency quickly when in contact 
with any kind of organic matter. 

In bronchitis, indicated by labored breathing, whist- 
ling, rattling in the throat, etc., ten drops of spirits 
of turpentine in a teaspoonful of castor oil are recommend- 
ed. Dose may be repeated after five or six hours if neces- 
sary. 

Where roup has definitely developed (distinguished by 
the peculiar odor that usually, though not always, accom- 
panies this disease) extreme measures must be taken. 
This is a highly infectious disease and outbreaks should 
be treated accordingly. Affected birds should promptly 
-be isolated from the remainder of the flock and may be 
given individual treatment if not too numerous. Disin- 
fect all drinking water for both sick and well birds, as 
previously directed. Clean the poultry house thoroughly 
and disinfect with a five per cent solution of crude car- 
bolic acid. Keep the house clean and well ventilated at 
all times. 

Remember there is always a cause for outbreaks of 
these diseases, and it is scarcely worth while to attempt 
to treat the fowls if the cause is not promptly discovered 
and remedied. It may be foul air and dampness due to 
insufficient ventilation, drafts from cracks in the walls. 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 



exposure to direct currents of air from open fronts, over- 
heating at night due to crowding on the perches or else- 
where. Whatever it may be, it must be corrected if good 
results are to be secured from any treatment. 

Another method of flock treatment that many have 
u.sed with good results is to fill the house with a disinfecting 
spray. Do this at night after the fowls have gone on the 
perches and saturate the air thoroughly so that the fowls 
will breathe the spray into their lungs, thus treating the 
membranes of nostrils, throat, and bronchial tubes. One 
or two treatments often will effect a complete cure. If 
the house is too large to do this to good advantage it may 
be practicable to enclose the fowls while on the perches by 
means of temporary curtains of muslin or burlap, which 
will make the treatment still more effective. 

Diseases of Digestive Organs 

There are numerous causes for diseases of this nature. 
The feeding of sour or moldy material of any kind, lack 
of such important elements in the ration as green feed, 
grit, etc., are all liable to cause trouble, while even a 
theoretically correct ration may result in disease when 
fed to excess or given to fowls in such manner that they 
do not secure the necessary amount of exercise. 

Sour Crop in poultry is indicated by gaseous or ab- 
normally fluid contents. It is detected by distension of 
that organ, or by the escape of mucus from the mouth (a 
form of vomiting), gasping for breath, or in more ad- 
vanced cases by staggering and convulsions (vertigo). It 
usually responds readily to treatment in early stages. 

Diarrhea is not a disease but a symptom in various 
diseases affecting the digestive organs. Wherever this 
trouble appears proper correctives should be applied at 
once but do not rest until the specific cause of the trouble 
has been located and removed. 

Liver Disorders. Liver disorders are the outgrowth 
of improperly balanced rations, lack of exercise, and lack 
of green feed. Diseases of this organ are rarely detected 
until they develop to a stage where medical treatment is 
of little value. However, it is always wise to give some 
simple treatment. If encouraging results are secured this 
may be continued until a cure is effected, otherwise the 
birds should be killed and burned or buried. 

Treatment for Digestive Disorders 

For practically all affections of the digestive organs 
the best treatment is a purgative dose of Epsom salts, 
which in the case of an adult fowl is a level teaspoonful. 
Dissolve the salts in a little water and in individual cases 
give with a teaspoon. If a number of fowls are to be 
treated, use 1% pounds of salts to 100 fowls. Dissolve 
in water, mix vrith mash enough to form a light feed, 
and use troughs or trays enough so that all the birds may 
feed at the same time. This is best given in the morning 
before the fowls have had access to any other feed. Then 
correct the ration, keep granulated charcoal before the 
fowls in hoppers, look after the supply of green feed, and 
provide more exercise if the fowls are closely confined. 

In case of sour crop it is advisable to keep bicar- 
bonate of soda in the drinking water, using no more than 
can be without making the water unpalatable. Where 
liver disorders are suspected give individual birds calomel 
in 1-grain doses and follow with salts in 6 hours. Treat- 
ment may be repeated in 24 hours if necessaiy. It is not ad- 
visable to give calomel in such doses for more than two 
consecutive days. 



Less fattening rations, in some cases less meat scrap, 
and in practically all cases an abundance of green feed 
are indicated in digestive troubles and if the disease is 
I'ot in too advanced a stage the foregoing measures will 
bring about prompt recovery. However, fowls that have 
once had serious attacks of this nature usually are apt to 
have the same trouble again and the poultry keeper's 
surest means of avoiding loss is to put all such birds on 
the market as soon as they are in good health again. 
There are a number of commercial remedies that are of 
great value in treating diseases of this class and, as they 
may be placed in the drinking water, are much simpler 
to give and generally more effective than home remedies 
as these usually are administered. 

MISCELLANEOUS DISEASES 

Diseases of Egg Organs. Where fowls are fed for 
extra-heavy production, derangements of the egg organs 
are naturally expected to appear in increasing numbers, 
though the percentage can be greatly reduced by proper 
management. Such troubles are always most common 
in fowls in confinement. Where the grain ration is fed 
in a limited amount of litter and the fowls able_to secure 
it with little effort, the muscles of the abdomen become 
weak and flabby, and in this condition the functioning 
of egg organs is interfered with, particularly if, as is fre- 
quently the case, this condition is accompanied by the 
accumulation of masses of abdominal fat which further 
interfere with their normal action. 

There is comparatively little that can be done to cor- 
rect these diseases in advanced stages, but those who ob- 
serve the ordinary rules of feeding and who see that their 
fowls are kept reasonably active will rarely have any 
occasion to resort to individual treatment. In the best 
managed flocks there will be occasional cases of prolapse 
of the oviduct, but the percentage should be small. The 
poultry keeper who has an undue proportion of such dis- 
eases can depend upon it that his feeding methods are 
not right. In prolapse of the oviduct (indicated by the 
protrusion of parts from the vent), the bird often may 
be relieved simply by pushing these back into place and 
keeping her in a quiet place away from other fowls, 
feeding a nonstimulating ration. Blood clots in eggs are 
caused by rupture of small blood vessels in the ovary or 
oviduct. They indicate an inflammatory condition the 
remedy for which is to reduce production for a time by 
lighter feeding. 

Soft-shelled, or otherwise abnormal eggs, when they 
do not result from lack of shell material, are usually 
caused by an inflammatory condition. More exercise and 
a lighter diet are the only remedies required. 

Chicken Pox or Sorehead. This is an infectious dis- 
ease, similar in its character to roup, and by many in- 
vestigators is believed to be caused by the same organ- 
ism. The disease usually starts with the appearance of 
small blisters, pimples or warty growths which develop 
into crusts or scabs. These may increase rapidly in 
number and in size until the entire surface of the comb 
and other head parts are covered with the sores. Where 
the tissue about the eyes is affected, the eyelids may 
stick together and the fowl then dies from starvation. 
Chicken pox varies greatly in virulence, the attacks some- 
times being of short duration and with practically no 
losses. In other cases large numbers of fowls succumb 
to the disease. It is most liable to break out in early 
winter among young pullets just as they are coming 



PROTECTING THE HEALTH OF THE BACK-YARD FLOCK 



99 



into maturity, and in damp weather throughout the fall, 
winter and spring. 

If the disease is taken in hand at the start, spread of 
the infection may be stopped by isolating the affected 
birds and giving them separate treatment. Remove the 
scabs and touch the raw surfaces with a swab saturated 
with a 5 per cent solution of creolin or a 1-lOOOth solu- 
tion of corrosive sublimate, then dust with iodoform. In 
light cases no further treatment may be required, aside 
from daily use of a good disinfecting ointment such as 
carbolated vaseline. If the sores continue to show in- 
flammation, dust with iodoform daily. Epsom salts is 
believed by many to be a help in preventing the spread 
of disease among the flock. The proper dose is one level 
teaspoonful to each fowl. Dissolve the salts in a little 
water and give it in a light feed of moist mash supplied 
in the morning before the fowls have had access to 
anything else to eat. 

Frozen Combs and Wattles. While fowls with large 
single combs are especially liable to frostbites in severely 
cold weather, few are entirely free from this dan- 
ger. Even when the fowls have small rose combs, their 
wattles often are well developed and these are as sensi- 
tive to cold as the combs. There is comparatively little 
danger of the fowls having combs and wattles frosted 
while they have their heads tucked under their wings at 
night, though this sometimes happens. The injury more 
frequently occurs in the early morning when the fowls 
come down from the perches. Frozen wattles usually result 
from the fowls dipping them into the drinking water. 
For this reason many poultry keepers make it a practice 
to withhold water in severely cold weather, until toward 
the middle of the forenoon when the house has warmed 
up somewhat. It is better to do this than to risk in- 
jury to the wattles, but it is much better still to provide 
suitable drinking founts so that the fowls can drink 
without getting their wattles into the water, or to have 
the water sufficiently warm so that injury is not likely 
to result. 

Rubbing the combs and wattles with vaseline will 
help to protect them from the frost, though such protec- 
tion is of only slight value. Where there is danger of 
frosting, the house should be kept as warm as possible 
without too greatly restricting ventilation and, if neces- 
sary, the number of birds in a pen can be increased by 
combining two or more flocks, thereby giving them the 
advantage of additional animal heat. 

When it is discovered that there are frosted combs 
or wattles, treatment should be given promptly. Thaw 
the frozen parts and restore the circulation by rubbing 
them with vaseline, or at least keep the birds where the 
temperature will be high enough to prevent further freez- 
ing, but do not take them to a warm room, as it is quite 
important that the parts should thaw out slowly. An 
excellent ointment for use in treating frozen combs is 
composed of four parts of vaseline, two parts of glycer- 
ine, and one part of turpentine. It should be rubbed on 
once a day until recovery. If the parts are badly frosted, 
more or less of the tissue will turn black and slough off. 
This should not be removed, but should be allowed to 
drop off naturally as the injured parts heal. 

Egg Eating. Egg eating is a vice usually resulting 
from idleness. Fowls that are closely confined and have 
nothing in particular to do are the ones that develop this 
habit, though it often owes its direct start to the presence 
of broken or soft-shelled eggs in the nest. Darken the 



nests in any practical way, see that the birds have an 
abundance of shell material and give more attention to 
exercise. In most cases the habit can promptly be bro- 
ken up by giving the birds one or two "doctored" eggs. 
Empty the contents of an eggshell through a small hole 
in the large end and fill with a stiff paste made of three 
parts of corn meal and one part of Cayenne pepper. 
Place this egg in the nest where fowls are accustomed 
to eating eggs and if necessary repeat once or twice. 

Feather Pulling. One of the troubles that the poultry 
keeper often has to contend with where the birds are 
closely confined, is feather pulling. They appear to de- 
velop the habit more for lack of something to do than for 
any other reason and the male, if one is kept, is apt to 
be the first victim. As soon as the practice begins, how- 
ever, it quickly spreads to the other members of the flock 
and if permitted to go unchecked will presently result 
in nearly all the birds being more or less denuded, with 
a most unfavorable effect upon the egg yield. The best 
remedy for feather pulling is exercise. If the birds are 
kept busily engaged during the day scratching for their 
feed in litter, or if they can be given greater liberty, 
they usually will discontinue the practice promptly, unless 
it has become too deep seated. 

As a preventive measure it is a good plan to prepare 
a strong solution of bitter aloes and sponge the feathers 
about the denuded parts with this, which makes them dis- 
tasteful to the birds. A lack of animal feed is sometimes 
held to be the cause of the development of the habit, 
and a regular and liberal supply of fresh meat is rec- 
ommended. This is a good plan for almost any flock in 
confinement, though it is doubtful whether a deficiency 
in this part of the ration really has anything to do with 
feather pulling. If the meat is fastened to a string and 
hung high enough above the floor so that the fowls have 
to jump to get it, this will assist in keeping them busy. 

PREVENTION AND CURE OF CHICK DISEASES 

In many chick disorders the symptoms are more or 
less alike, though not so much so but that the caretaker 
can detect little shades of difference that point toward 
specific causes. The successful chick raiser does not feel 
easy in regard to any brood so long as there is one mopy 
chick in it. It may be constitutional weakness or some 
other matter affecting a single individual (not all chicks 
will live under even the best of conditions), but if there 
is one weakly chick in the flock there is reason to suspect 
that in another hour there may be two; and in a few hours 
there may be a dozen. Watch! 

When chicks are noisy, when they huddle in corners 
or in the sunlight, when they stay under the hover for 
hours at a time, when they refuse to go out at mealtime 
and do not eat when they are out, there is every reason 
to fear serious trouble. Such conduct indicates weakness 
at least. It may not mean anything more serious than 
that, but study the chicks and review everything that has 
been done. Is the temperature of the brooder what it 
ought to be? Does the thermometer register correctly? 
Has the feeding been properly done? Have the feeds 
been wholesome and pure? 

Digestive Disorders 

The chick's digestive organs are peculiarly delicate 
during the first few weeks of its life and anything that 
unfavorably affects its health or strength is liable to 
result in some affection of these organs. A chick that 



100 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 




CHICK WITH GAPES 

Treatment of chicks affected vdth this disease 
is difficult and results are uncertain. The most 
practical plan is to prevent infection. 



has been kept in an insufficiently ventilated nursery cham- 
ber in the incubator, that has been chilled either in the 
incubator or in the brooder, that has been fed too much, 
deprived of some needed element such as grit or green 
feed, given cold water to drink, permitted to get wet, 

crowded in brood- 
er, kept confined 
to the brooder 
too long, or ex- 
posed to any one 
of a number of 
possible sources 
of bacterial in- 
fection, will al- 
m o s t certainly 
have digestive 
disorders. Chicks 
often suffer from 
sour crop result- 
ing from the use 
o f unsuitable 

feeds or improp- 
er feeding. The 
chief symptom is 
an accumulation 
of gas and liquid 
in the crop, caus- 
ing distension and sometimes vomiting. Severe cases 
may be accompanied by gasping and this disease occa- 
sionally is mistaken for gapes on this account. 

Use due care in feeding and keep the chicks liberally 
supplied with charcoal and these ailments will be almost 
wholly prevented. When the symptoms are first noted, 
give Epsom salts and change the ration. In giving Ep- 
som salts, use the following dosage: For chicks 1 to 5 
weeks old, 1 level teaspoonful to 8 chicks; 5 to 10 weeks 
old, 1 level teaspoonful to 5 chicks; 10 to 15 weeks old, 
1 level teaspoonful to 3 chicks; 15 to 26 weeks old, 1 level 
teaspoonful to 2 chicks. Salts may be given most conven- 
iently when dissolved in water and mixed with a little 
wet mash. Also give bicarbonate of soda (common bak- 
ing soda) in the drinking water, making the solution as 
strong as the chicks will drink it readily. Individual 
doses of subnitrate of bismuth may be administered if 
"desired, giving one-third of a grain 3 times daily to 
chicks under 5 weeks of age. 

Catarrhal Disorders 

Chicks exposed to unfavorable conditions in or out 
of the brooders, such as chilling, overheating, impure air, 
etc., are more liable to develop catarrh of the bowels 
than the various forms of nasal catarrh. Under some 
conditions, however, they may develop nasal discharges 
and "sore eyes" — forms of catarrhal inflammation. Keep 
the brooders clean and dry and at the proper tempera- 
ture, and do not exposethe chicks unduly to cold winds 
or rain. Whenever either symptom appears, give potas- 
sium permanganate in the drinking water, using enough 
to color the water well. 

Gapes 

Gapes is due to the presence of gapeworms in the 
windpipe of the chick. The characteristic gasping for 
breath is due in part to the presence of gapeworms 
and in part to mucus secreted as a result of 
irritation of the inner lining of the windpipe to which 



the worms attach themselves. The gapeworm egg or 
embryo may be taken by the chick in various ways, as 
through the drinking water, or by being picked up di- 
rectly from the ground. Earthworms are known to he 
instrumental in the spreading of infection, though they 
do not, of course, give gapes to chicks unless the worms 
are from infected soil. 

If gapeworm infection is known to be present the 
chicks must be kept away from the earth and from earth- 
worms until at least four weeks old. Brood the chicks 
on board floors and never allow them on the ground, es- 
pecially when it is wet, or in the early morning when 
earthworms come to the surface. If this method is fol- 
lowed, special care must be taken to prevent leg weak- 
ness, however, which usually results from close confine- 
ment. When there is sufficient room to do so, a better 
plan is to raise all chicks on land that has not been 
occupied by poultry for at least a year. If the chick 
grower can provide two or three chick parks or nur- 
series in which the chicks may be grown on alternate 
years, there will be practically no trouble from this cause. 

Different remedies have been suggested for chicks 
with gapes but reports regarding them are not always 
satisfactory. Much the better plan is to prevent gapes 
rather than try to cure it. Infected soil should be plowed, 
cultivated, and heavily limed, and no chicks should be 
raised on such soil for at least one year. Get rid of the 
infection and then keep free from it by cleanliness, sani- 
tation and the alternate use of different plots for brooding. 

Leg Weakness 

Leg weakness frequently occurs among chicks that 
are from one to four months of age. There are various 
causes of the trouble, such as lack of vigor in the breed- 
ing stock, bottom heat in the brooders, overheating and 
crowding in brooders, poor ventilation, special feeding for 
rapid growth, lack of bone-forming material in the feed, 
etc. Constant confinement on board or cement floors 
frequently causes leg weakness. Common symptoms are 
unsteadiness of gait, lack of activity due to inability to 
stand up, lameness, lying with legs stretched out behind 
or at side, etc. 

The common practice of confining chicks indoors for 
long periods before they are allowed to run out, of provid- 
ing insufficient litter on the brooder or house floor, and 
indifference to providing exercise, cause three-fourths of 
all cases of leg weakness. Medical treatment is useless. 
Correct the conditions that cause the trouble and the 
chicks will soon recover. The weakest, however, should 
be removed from the general flock and be given a sepa- 
rate brooder where they will not be trampled and abused 
by the healthy members of the brood. 

Limberneck and Vertigo 

Young chicks frequently suffer from limberneck, caus- 
ed by eating decayed animal matter or the maggots that 
grow in such material. Do not confuse limberneck with 
congestion of the brain, or vertigo. When the chick is 
suffering from the latter disease its head may be drawn 
back over the shoulder or twisted to one side, and the neck 
may be turned so that the chick looks directly upward. Af- 
fected birds will stagger, run backward and make other 
peculiar motions, or may lie on one side. The trouble is 
caused by digestive disorders, sometimes by worms, and 
occasionally by injury. In well-developed cases of limber- 
neck, the muscles of the neck are relaxed, allowing the 



PROTECTING THE HEALTH OF THE BACK-YARD FLOCK 



101 



dack's head to droop until often it touches the ground. 
In the case of either disease give the chicks a dose of Ep- 
som salts and see to it that the cause is properly removed. 

Overgrown Wings 

Frequently young chicks, particularly Leghorns, are 
found trailing their wings, which appear to be out of all 
proportion to the size of the chick. This trouble develops 
occasionally as a result of too high brooder temperatures, 
but, as a rule, it indicates a lack of strength which may 
result from a number of causes. In many instances the 
wings really are not overgrown, but are normal in length 
and only appear overlarge because of the relaxed posi- 
tion. When chicks are so affected it is a good plan to 
clip the wings and relieve them of the extra weight. 
Then restore the chick's health by proper feeding and 
brooding and there will be no further trouble. 

Lack of Feathers 

In many flocks there are found partially grown chicks 
that have failed to feather out properly, sometimes hav- 
ing no feathers at all except a few on the wings. This 
condition may be due to a lack of constitutional vigor or 
improper feeding, but more frequently to crowding in the 
brooder at night. Generally it is found that if these 
chicks are removed from the regular flock, warmly brood- 
ed in small numbers, and well fed, they will promptly 
feather out and make fair growth. Such chicks usually 
are stunted, however, and should never be retained in the 
flock either as layers or breeders. 

Stunted Growth 

This condition generally is the result of insufficient 
heat in the brooders, or crowding and poor ventilation in 
brooders or coops. The general tendency to discontinue 
supplying artificial heat before the chicks are properly 
feathered out is responsible for much lack of thrift and 
stunted growth. With hen-brooded chicks it usually is 
the result of overcrowding. Coops that appear to be 
amply large when the broods are first placed in them, be- 
come badly overcrowded as the chicks increase in size. 
Confining growing chicks at night to hot, stuffy quarters 
in which they scarcely have standing room, a condition 
altogether too common in late summer and early fall, can 
have no other effect than to stunt their growth and impair 
their health. 

Toe Picking and Cannibalism 

Young chicks, especially Leghorns, are quite liable 
to form the habit of picking at each other when kept in 
close confinement, the toes usually being the first object 
cf attack. This sometimes goes so far as to result in the 
loss of a number of the weaker chicks that are literally 
torn to pieces by the stronger members of the brood. 
As a rule, this vicious practice is the result of idleness, 
though a lack of suitable animal feed sometimes appears 
to be responsible for it. 

Diarrhea in Chicks 

Almost anything which unfavorably affects the phys- 
ical condition of chicks is liable to cause diarrheal dis- 
charges, and chick diarrhea always is more or less white 
in appearance, owing to the presence of urates which, in 
fowls, are voided in a semisolid state instead of as urine. 
Because of the fact that the term "white diarrhea" is 
generally applied to a particular disease, however, there 



is a general and unfortunate tendency on the part of 
poultry keepers to jump to the conclusion that chicks 
showing any form of diarrheal discharge have the mys- 
terious and much dreaded bacillary white diarrhea. As 
a matter of fact, cases of this disease are few in number 
a.'i compared with the other causes producing similar 
symptoms, and it is much safer to assume that the trouble 
is NOT bacillary infection, until all the more probable 
causes have been eliminated by thorough diagnosis. 

It hardly needs to be said that for the cure of diar- 
rhea and the prevention of its spread throughout the flock, 
the direct cause must be discovered and removed. Where 
this is done and a few simple measures are taken to relieve 
the suffering directly resulting from diarrhea, the chicks 
often may be restored to good health without any other 
t;-eatment. In the earliest stages of the trouble it may be 
sufficient to use a digestive stimulant, such as Cayenne 
pepper, ground ginger, or mustard. Use only enough 
t(j make the mash slightly warm to the taste and discon- 
tinue as soon as no longer needed. An excellent sooth- 
ing feed for chicks suffering from bowel trouble in any 
form is boiled rice, which should be cooked thoroughly 
and boiled as dry as possible, taking up all surplus moist- 
ure at feeding time by stirring in sufficient brown wheat 
middlings or wheat bran with all coarse particles sifted 
out. Let the chicks have all the boiled milk they will 
drink but keep the vessels clean. 

Charcoal is an excellent corrective in all intestinal 
disorders and should be kept before the chicks all the 
time, placing it in any convenient waste-preventing hop- 
per. They will eat it more readily if supplied in gran- 
ulated form with the fine dust screened out. It is taken 
for granted that the chicks will always have a supply 
of grit crushed to suitable size. Clean, coarse sand will 
answer at first, but a good grade of commercial chick 
grit is better. 

In all digestive troubles with chicks, a liberal sup- 
ply of green feed is important. This should be tender 
and succulent however, and if the chicks are not accus- 
tomed to having all they want, only a limited quantity 
should be fed at first, increasing the amount as they get 
used to it and can be trusted not to overeat. It seldom 
is worth while to attempt medical treatment for diarrhea, 
but if this is considered desirable, bichloride of mercury 
probably is as good as anything. Get this in tablets of 
1-1000 of a grain and dissolve twelve in each quart of 
drinking water. 




DIFFERENCES IN INHERITED CONSTITUTION.^L VK,Ol; L.WLAIX 
IRREGULAR GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT 

These three Barred Plymouth Rock chicks show how differences in in- 
herited vitality and vigor affect their growth. Chick on left was a rapid 
grower; the one on the right a relatively slow one. Photo from New Jersey 
Experiment Station. 



102 



SUCCESSFUL BACK-YARD POULTRY KEEPING 



Importance of Post-Mortem Examinations ■ 

There are few external symptoms that can be relied 
upon in distinguishing between different diseases, and ex- 
amination of the internal organs of dead chicks is the 
only reliable means of doing this in many instances. The 
chick raiser, therefore, must overcome his dislike for this 
work and by repeated examinations thoroughly familiarize 
himself with the appearance of the organs of both normal 
and diseased chicks or he will never be able to identify 
diseases with certainty. It will prove a good invest- 
ment for the beginner to sacrifice a few healthy chicks 
also, in order to learn exactly how their internal organs 
appear when in normal condition. 

A good way to make the examination is as follows: 
Procure a shingle or board of white pine or other soft 
wood, into which tacks or push-pins can be easily driven. 
Place the chick on the board, breast uppermost, and 
stretch out the wings and legs, tacking them in this 
position. Slit the skin covering the breast and abdomen, 
then peel it back sufficiently to expose the breast and the 
muscular wall of the abdomen. With shears or knife 
make an incision below each side of the breastbone and 
remove the entire breast. This exposes the internal or- 
gans without disturbing them in any way. 

Liver Disorders 

After removing the breastbone the liver will be in 
plain sight and should be carefully examined. The 
healthy liver has a uniform, dark chocolate color and is 
firm in texture. If it is abnormally dark in color, or 
pale with bright red edges or spots, suspect congestion 
or inflammation. A pale liver with streaks and patches 
of red is a symptom in bacillary white diarrhea, but is 
observed frequently when no trace of bacillary infection 
can be detected. When the gall bladder is distended and 
the adjacent parts are discolored, the ration probably is 
lacking in animal matter. 

Congested livers frequently are due to a lack of green 
feed. Serious epidemics of diarrhea have been checked 
by correcting the ration in this respect. Congestion may 
be caused by insufficient exercise, supplying overstimulat- 
ing feeds or condiments, or too much mash. If suitable 
feeds are used and proper methods of feeding are adopted 
it should be comparatively easy to prevent losses from this 
source. 

Aspergillosis and Congestion of Lungs 

After examining and removing the liver, carefully 
examine the lungs. These should be light pink in color. 
It diseased they may be covered or filled with white cheesy 
nodules the size of a pinhead or smaller, or the lungs may 
be discolored and dark. If nodules are present the trouble 
is aspergillosis, sometimes called brooder pneumonia. 
Aspergillosis is caused by the growth of mold in the lung 
tissue^just the same kind of mold that comes on bread 
when it is kept too long in a can or box; the mold that 
is found in cellars and damp dark places generally. 

The most common cause of infection is the use of 
moldy hay or straw for brooder litter. The general use 
of shatterings or chaff from the stable or haymow is 
responsible for a great deal of this trouble. Dusty shat- 
terings often are quite full of mold spores and the chicks 
breathing this dust are infected. 

These is no known cure for aspergillosis. If its pres- 
ence is promptly discovered much may be done to prevent 
serious losses by at once removing the source of infection. 



Use nothing but mold-free litter and feed; disinfect the 
brooder every time a new lot of chicks is placed in it, 
and be sure that it is absolutely free from mold. 

When the lungs, instead of being full of nodules, are 
discolored and dark and appear to be filled with frothy 
mucus when cut open, the trouble is congestion or inflam- 
mation. This disease sometimes is called brooder pneu- 
monia, and frequently appears in epidemic ferm. It is 
caused by improper brooding, impure air, also by allow- 
ing the chicks to become wet, chilled or overheated. 
Many heavy losses from this cause are reported by persons 
brooding chicks in fireless brooders, especially in cold or 
changeable spring weather. Inflammation of the lungs 
is practically incurable, but readily prevented by the use 
of brooders that provide an abundance of heat with a 
forced circulation of pure, warm air, and by carefully 
avoiding all exposure to chilling or overheating. 

Bacillary White Diarrhea 

Bacillary white diarrhea is one of the most difficult 
chick diseases to combat successfully, thoUgh fortunately 
it is by no means as common as it generally is believed 
to be. In chicks dying from this disease the intes- 
tines are pale, showing a dirty white color, and usually 
are empty, but may contain a small amount of gray or 
blown matter. Unabsorbed yolk generally is present and 
has a stale odor, but is not necessarily putrid. In bad 
cases of infection the first deaths may occur before the 
chicks are taken from the incubator. Affected chicks are 
chilly, listless, and with little or no appetite and are 
"short backed." 

There is no cure for bacillary white diarrhea so far 
as is now known. The only thing that can be done is to 
try to hatch chicks free from infection and then start 
them under the most favorable conditions, so that they 
will be strong enough to throw off infection if it occurs. 
Feeding milk — all the chicks will drink — is recommended, 
and the incubator and brooder should be thoroughly dis- 
infedted for each hatch or brood. Fine, absorbent litter 
that will take up all moist discharges so that the chicks 
cannot pick at them so readily, is especially desirable. 

COMMON PARASITES AND THEIR PREVENTION 

Lice of different kinds are found on practically all 
parts of the fowl's body, being most numerous, generally, 
among the feathers below the vent. They are readily 
killed by any form of grease, or by fine dust which stops 
the pores through which they breath, though different 
materials naturally vary in their effectiveness. 

Insect powder, pyrethrum, tobacco dust, and various 
other articles or combinations of these, have been recom- 
m_ended, and they are more or less effective. Mercurial 
or blue ointment is highly recommended by many and un- 
doubtedly gives good results. A particle about as big as 
a pea when rubbed on the skin below the vent usually is 
all that is required to eradicate lice from this part of the 
body. Where lice are distributed all over the body, it is 
r.ecessary to apply the remedy to the various sections 
where the lice are found to insure reaching them all. Blue 
ointment is a poison, and when applied too freely will 
cause injury to the fowls. It is not recommended to use 
this material on young chicks or growing stock, but it is 
effective on adults. 

Dipping the fo-w'Is in various lice-killing solutions is 
highly recommended by many, and under favorable weath- 



PROTECTING THE HEALTH OF THE BACK-YARD FLOCK 



103 



er conditions is an economic means of treating badly af- 
fected fowls. It is not advisable to dip in cold weather, 
however. Almost any sheep dip or good liquid insecticide 
may be used for this purpose, but nothing should be em- 
ployed that will discolor or gum the feathers. 

Sodium fluerid, either as a powder or dip, is h'gh'y 
recommended by the United States Department of Agri- 
culture, but must be used carefully to avoid injury to 
the fowls. 

Hen-hatched chicks are the particular prey of large 
head lice, a few of which, at least, will be found on prac- 
tically all sitting hens, but which leave them for the 
helpless chicks, almost as soon as they are out of the 
shell. Because hens are almost powerless to protect them- 
selves against lice and mites, either on nests or when 
closely confined to coops, those that are to be used for 
hatching or brooding should have especially 
thorough treatment to rid them of lice, and all 
chicks should have their heads greased or treat- 
ed with some good lice-killing remedy when 
taken from the nest or placed under the hens. 

The poultry keeper who values his time, 
wants a properly compounded remedy that 
is easily and quickly applied, is sufficiently 
effective so that repeated applications will not 
be required to do the work, and that will 
eliminate the lice without danger of injury to 
fowls or chicks. There are various commercial 
lice-killing preparations on the market that ex- 
actly meet these requirements, and that are 
so much better and more convenient than 
the so-called "home remedies" that there is 
no practical reason for employing the latter, 
except in emergencies when nothing else is 
available. 

Treatment for Red Mites 

Red mites are the small, gray or reddish 
insects found about the perches or perch sup- 
ports. As only seven days are required for 
the hatching of the egg and the growth of 
the mite to adult size, it will be seen that 
these pests multiply with great rapidity when conditions 
are favorable to their development, as in hot summer 
weather. These mites can live for several months without 
food, and as they remain hidden out of sight in cracks, etc., 
in the daytime, their presence often is not suspected until 
they have multiplied so as completely to overrun the 
house. Where only a few are present, they will be found 
on the underside of the perch, between the perch and its 
supports, or in near-by cracks or crevices. When numer- 
ous they may be found almost anywhere in the poultry 
bouse, particularly on the droppings boards and nests. 

Among the mite-killing preparations in popular favor 
are kerosene, crude petroleum, crude carbolic acid, coal- 
tar disinfectants, etc. Any of these will kill all the mites 
with which they come in contact, but as it is difficult to 
reach those that are hidden, it usually is necessary to 
spray several times in order to be sure of getting them 
all. Kerosene is highly effective, but as it has little body 



its effect is not lasting. Crude petroleum is much more 
durable. Crude carbolic acid added to kerosene or crude 
petroleum in the proportion of 5 to 10 per cent, makes 
an effective and fairly durable spray. The New Jersey 
Experiment Station recommends painting the perches with 
coal tar and kerosene, fifty per cent of each, and it is 
claimed that one such treatment will keep the perches free 
fro.n mites for many months. 

What has a, ready been said in regard to commercial 
preparafrions applies with equal force to remedies for com- 
bating mites. There are on the market much more ef- 
fective, more permanent, and more easily applied rem- 
edies than the average poultry keeper is able to make up 
for his own use, and, except in emergencies, it is a waste 
of time and effort to use homemade preparations. In this 
and in most other respects, the practical poultry keeper 




TREATING PERCHES AND PERCH SUPPORTS FOR MITES 

Use any good liquid lice killer and put it on heavily with a paint brush, applying it to all 
sides of the perches. If there are any cracks see that these are filled with the sohition. 



finds that it pays to make use of the knowledge and the 
experience of others. 

Scaly Leg 

This is the work of a mite which burrows under the 
scales of the fowl's legs, thus causing the unsightly en- 
largement of the shanks, so familiar to poultry keepers 
generally. This mite readily succumbs to a thorough ap- 
plication of almost any form of grease or oil. 

Where the legs are badly encrusted with scale, the 
most effective treatment is to soak them in lukewarm 
water until the scales are softened, when they can be re- 
moved with a stiff brush or tooth pick, after which the 
legs should be greased with lard, carbolated vaseline, etc., 
or treated with a good lice-killing preparation. Since 
these mites often burrow deeply into the scales and tissues 
of the leg, it sometimes is necesssary to repeat the treat- 
ment two or three times to effect a complete cure. 



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Quincy, Illinois, U. S. A. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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